A Real Lie
by Lauralogan80
Summary: Accused of lying about being pregnant, Helga fled. Now she has to come back, bringing her daughter along. Man, is Arnold in for a shock!
1. Chapter 1

"Ada, hurry up!" Helga called up the stairs. "We have to get going now!"

Her nine year old daughter stormed down the stairs, dragging her suitcase behind her. She looked so much like her father, it sometimes hurt to look at her.

"Mum, why are we going to Nana and Grandad?" she whined.

"Because Grandad is sick and can't travel," Helga told her daughter. She grabbed Ada's suitcase. "Jesus, what do you have in here?"

"Stuff," Ada replied. She ran back upstairs and into her room, coming back a few moments later with a backpack.

"More?"

Ada rolled her eyes and walked past her mum.

"Mum, hurry up! We have to get going now!" Ada yelled back at her, skipping out to the taxi.

Helga shook her head. She may have looked more like her father, but she was her mother all over.

Helga worried about her daughter. It was a long flight from New Zealand - where she had fled too - to the U.S, and she was hoping her daughter could take the flight. After they settled into the taxi she took a peek in her daughters bags. Dolls and books.

"I have something else for you, too," Helga said pulling a small little box out of her back pocket.

"What?" Ada asked excitedly. She loved getting presents.

Helga handed the gift to her and Ada ripped it open.

"An ipod!" she squealed.

"For the flight. Don't break it, don't lose it," Helga told her sternly. "I loaded some music on there already, but when we get to nana and grandad's you can put some of your own on there."

…...

Arnold hated airports. He was hungry and tired, after a long flight. This travelling from one side of the country to the other nearly twice a week was getting tiring. He hadn't seen his fiancée for two weeks. He was working in his dream job, but sometimes . . .

Heading towards the food court, eyeing up the McDonalds sign. He couldn't wait to be home to get some home cooked meals in him. But first, a snack stop. Waiting in line he looked around at the people who were milling about. There were people all bundled up warm against the winter cold. Except for a blonde woman and her daughter who looked dressed for summer. The woman turned around, making sure her suitcase was behind her, and Arnolds heart stopped.

"Helga!" he called out randomly. The woman looked around, seeing who called her name. so it was Helga. And the little girl . . . He stepped out of line and started in their direction. Helga was now bending down to talk to the girl. He called her name again, and again Helga looked around.

But this time, the little girl did too.

It was like the world slowed to a top. Everyone around him had disappeared. All he could focus on the girl. Her mothers eyes and nose, blonde hair in pigtails, and a slightly football shaped head.

…...

Helga saw him the second time, standing there all grown up and manly. Wearing a business suit. Her heart stopped, then started racing. Part of her wanted to run. Jump back on the plane with her daughter and fly back to New Zealand, where no one knew her past, or had grown up with her.

Where no one could find her.

Another childish part wanted to walk up to him, snap her fingers in his face and say "Ha! I wasn't lying! I really was pregnant, and you just missed the first eight years of your child's life because you followed your dick instead of the truth!".

Instead, she bent down and asked Ada if she had packed any winter clothes.

"Why would I pack winter clothes?" she asked. "Did you?"

Helga looked at the windows. She had, but looking outside, she realised that she probably didn't have thick enough winter clothes.

"We'll need to stop at the shops then," she said, sighing. "Come on."

She took Ada's hand and grabbed the suitcase and started away. A few seconds later his voice called her name again. She sighed.

"Mum I think that man is calling out to you," Ada said, looking back at him.

"I know," she said, and stopped. She didn't turn around, knowing he was going to catch up. When h did she looked up, turned around and smiled.

"Hey football head, how's it going?" she asked.

Arnold just stood there, mouth slightly ajar, staring at Ada.

"Is she?" he asked, slowly looking to Helga in shock.

"Yeah," she said, smiling down at Ada and ruffling her hair. Ada smiled at her then showed her a CD she had picked up.

"Mum can I have this?" she asked.

"No, you can buy it," Helga said.

"Can I have some money?"

"Where's yours?" Helga asked frowning. Ada looked at the ground, then back at her smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Have you spent it all?"

Ada nodded.

"Ada, that was ten dollars!" Helga cried out in dismay. "What did you spend ten dollars on?"

"Lollies and those games," she told her, pointing towards a couple of crane games.

"Oh, Ada," Helga said. "Well, you can't get it then, can you?"

"Why?" Ada whined.

Arnold watched the exchange with fascination. He and Rhonda had decided against children. Well, his fiancée had decided against children. Arnold wasn't to fussed either way, though admitted feeling a bit of jealousy every time he saw Gerald with his new baby son.

But right here in front of him, smiling, whining, breathing, talking, real, was his daughter.

The one he accused Helga of lying about being pregnant with nine years ago.

The one he had said he wouldn't want anyway if it meant having to put up with her.

Oh God, he'd written those very words down on paper and signed it, along with that legal document Helga had handed him all those years ago.

"Well, we better get going," Helga finally said. "Goodbye Arnold."

Arnold was snapped out of his reverie and looked at her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, still shocked.

"My parents," she said, taking Ada's hand and starting to walk away.

"Wait!" he called out, reaching out and grabbing her arm. "What-"

"You made your bed, Arnold. Lie in it," Helga told him, pulling away and leaving. Ada turned to look at him once, asked her mum something, then looked forward and left him standing in the middle of the airport watching his daughter walk away from him.

…...

"Was that my daddy?" Ada asked, awe in her voice.

"That was your father, yes," Helga told her.

Ada just nodded, then looked back at him once. He was still standing there watching them. He looked like he was going to cry.

"Will we see him again?" she asked.

"I don't doubt it."

…...

Arnold had gotten the taxi to the park and had gone for a walk. He had to clear his head. He couldn't stop thinking of Helga and Ada. His daughter! He had a daughter? Holy hell! He had a daughter! She was eight. He couldn't believe it! He was feeling all sorts of emotions. He was happy of course, but shocked, disappointed and guilt ridden.

Did she know who he was? Had Helga told her about him? What had she told her?

He had so many questions to ask, but how did he ask them? What was he going to tell his fiancée? "Hey, remember Helga Pataki? You know, the chick who pretended to be pregnant to me, but I told you she was lying and the whole school was cruel to her for it? Yeah, so I saw her and met my daughter. The baby that didn't exist? Yeah, cute kid" . . .

He finally just dropped down onto the grass. He had this urge, this need, to see her again. She was his daughter! How could he not?

But at the same time he was worried. What would this do to his relationship?

…...

(Going through a major scandalous stories phase atm. Sorry. Using Rhonda because I can't be bothered thinking up an original character.)


	2. Chapter 2

Events of Nine Years Earlier to Present

"What?" Arnold asked, stunned.

"Okay. For the fourth time, head boy, I'm pregnant," Helga had repeated.

"What?" he asked again.

Helga sighed.

"Forget it," she said, turning and walking away.

"You cant be pregnant!" he yelled at her suddenly.

"Excuse me?" she said. "Are you saying I'm lying?"

Arnold was silent, thinking it all over.

He had cheated on his girlfriend. He knew it was a mistake. He and Helga had been partners on a project, and it had gotten intense, and his grandmother had died, and his girlfriend had been away and . . . and . . .

He and Helga had started "mucking around".

He looked at her.

"You have to be," he said. Yeah, she was lying. He knew she loved him. She was lying so that he would break up with Rhonda, and be with her. That's what this was. It had to be!

Helga looked like Arnold had slapped her. He could see she was either going to cry or attack him. But instead she just turned and walked away.

"Whatever, football face," she said, and stormed away.

Lila, who had been near by had heard everything, and it was just too good not to tell other people. So she'd sent a mass text message to everyone on her phone, knowing it would be around school in minutes.

And it had been. Rhonda had found out and confronted Arnold.

"We never slept together," he's lied. "She's lying. We worked on a project, and she hung out with me when grandma died, but we never did anything."

Rhonda had then confronted Helga, with a group of girls at her back. Helga had looked past them and seen him, and the look of hurt on her face hurt him. She didn't argue with Rhonda and her friends, which they took to mean that she was indeed lying. The last month before graduation had been hell for Helga. He'd known that, but he couldn't bring himself to come clean. A week after it all broke out, Phoebe stopped talking to Helga. Probably supported by Gerald in the whole thing. He would often later wonder what went through her head after she and Gerald broke up that summer. She'd turned her back on her best friend, only to be dumped by her boyfriend a couple of months later.

By then, Helga was long gone. She left the night of graduation and no one had ever heard from her again, or seen her. She went down as the girl who tried to break up a golden couple by lying about being pregnant . . .

…...

Helga had told her family. They were all quiet. It was Olga who finally said something. She wrapped her arms around Helga's shoulders and told her everything was going to be okay. After graduation she could come with Olga to New Zealand.

"New Zealand!" Bob had roared. 'Here we go,' Helga had thought. 'His precious Olga leaving…'

"Your not taking her to New Zealand! She's pregnant! She needs her family!" He'd yelled.

"Helga, honey," Miriam had said. "You can stay with grandma, and maybe we can find a new home for the baby . . ."

"No one is taking that baby anywhere!" Bob roared again. "Where's the father? What has he said?"

Helga had shook her head and started crying.

"It was that football headed kid, wasn't it?" he demanded. Helga just cried more. Bob had shook his head, and muttered "Coward."

Graduation came, and went, and Helga was now past her first trimester. She'd had no morning sickness at all, so it was with shock at 18 weeks that she suddenly felt ill all day and night.

"Just eat heaps of small snacks," Miriam had told her.

It seemed to work. But as soon as it came, it went.

Olga had snuck into her room one night.

"I leave for New Zealand next week," she said. "I've checked with your obstetrician and the airlines, they will let you fly up to 34 weeks, with medical permission."

Helga hadn't needed to be told twice. She had agreed immediately.

At 20 weeks she went to the airport with her parents to see Olga off. Then snuck away, and into the departures and gotten on the plane without Bob and Miriam knowing. She sent one last text to her mom, then turned off her phone.

She was going as far away as she could.

And she never wanted to come back

…...

University had been a major ego booster for Gerald Johansson. He was they're star basketball player, going in on a scholarship, getting onto the varsity team. He met Indi, and fell in love . . . By the first break, they began living together, and Gerald had been ignoring calls and emails from Phoebe. It seemed as though she had finally gotten the hint and stopped trying to contact him, as he hadn't received anything for the past two weeks.

Then there was a knock on the door, and Indi had opened it to see Phoebe standing there.

"Is Gerald in?" she asked. Indi looked at her confused.

"Um, yeah, who's looking or him?" she asked.

"His girlfriend," Phoebe said sharply.

Indi's jaw dropped.

"Girlfriend?" she asked, stunned. "What . . . but, I'm his girlfriend. Have been since a week after Uni started . . ."

"Who is it babe?" he asked, coming into the lounge. He saw Phoebe, and then Indi turned to stare at him, confusion on her face.

"Your girlfriend?" she said and asked at the same time.

Gerald didn't know what to say or do.

"Gerald?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't love you anymore," he blurted out.

"Oh my god!" Indi yelled. "You had a girlfriend?"

Gerald looked at her. How the hell was he going to get out of this one?

"Forget it," Phoebe finally said. "I guess when you stopped answering my calls, texts and emails I should have got the hint, right?"

Gerald just nodded. Phoebe turned and walked away. Gerald walked up to the door and closed it, sighing. He looked at Indi.

"Awkward," he said with a smirk. Indi slapped him.

"You're a pig, an absolute pig!" she yelled at him. "If you'd do this to her, I wouldn't put it pat you to do it to me."

She turned and went into their bedroom, pulling out a suitcase and pulling clothes from the drawers.

"Wait, Indi, no," he begged. He pulled clothes out of her suitcase, then threw it on the floor. "Indi, babe, I can explain-"

"Save it!" she snapped. She threw her clothes back in. "Once a cheater, always a cheater."

She left.

And she never came back.

…...

Phoebe had been heartbroken, but at the same time it had cleared some things up for her. She too, had met someone else, but had been pushing him away because of Gerald, never mind her growing attraction for this new guy. But knowing that Gerald had no problem moving on helped her make that final move.

So what? It had been a school girl crush. Run it's course. Over now, so she could move onto a more mature relationship with someone who she could talk to everyday, not just when he decided to pick up his phone.

Still, when she got back to her dorm she dialled those so familiar numbers she had dialled everyday since she had been able to use the phone. She just wanted to hear Helga's voice, mend the bridge she'd burned at Gerald's insistence.

How could she have been so stupid?

"Hello?" she heard Helga's mom answer.

"Um, hi," she said quietly. She had no right to be calling. "Is Helga there?"

Miriam was quiet on the other line, and Phoebe thought she'd hung up.

"Hello?"

"She's gone," Miriam said. "Her and the baby are gone."

"Gone?" Phoebe asked, but the phone had been hung up.

What did Mrs Pataki mean by gone?

And the baby was real!?

After University she married Louis and they had their first baby - a boy - a year later.

One night she went into her email and looked up and old email address. She had just gotten her son down for the night and had realised she actually owed Gerald. After all, if he hadn't shown his true colours then, she may have made the mistake of staying with him and marrying him!

She never would have given Louis a chance, never would have had such a beautiful little boy. Never have been so happy!

So she sent two words to him in an email.

Thank you.

…...

Rhonda followed Arnold to University. It wasn't that she was serious about learning. She wasn't. but man, she loved being in a sorority and the parties.

And Arnold.

He attracted a lot of attention from other young woman at university, but he was hers and she made sure they knew it. She also wasn't above destroying their reputations if she had too.

After graduating from University, they went on vacation to the south of France, where he proposed to her. She had immediately said yes. They talked about children. Arnold said he wasn't fussed either way, Rhonda flat out told him she wasn't interested in children. He'd just shrugged.

She wondered if the stunt Helga had pulled in high school flashed through his mind.

It certainly did hers!

A couple of weeks after the proposal he told her he had to go on a trip for his new job. It was going to be a bit hard at first, he was going to be away often. But he loved her.

Two weeks later he finally walked in the door, looking stunned and shocked. He sat down on the couch, staring at nothing.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down next to him. He looked at her, glassy eyed.

"What's happened?" she demanded. What had gotten into him.

"I have a daughter."


	3. Chapter 3

"Piha," Olga said. Helga looked at the view before her. They were at the top of a steep twisty hill, after a steep twisty drive, through damp native bush. Now she was looking sown on a surf beach that had a huge rock known as Lion Rock smack bang in the middle. It was windy, too, the cool breeze coming in from the ocean.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Olga asked, looking back at Helga. Some tourists pulled up behind them, got out of their car and started taking pictures. The smell of burning rubber finally wafted up the hill to assault her nose. The trip, the smells, it all got to much and she lost her stomach. Olga came over, handing her a bottle of water.

"Are you okay little sis?" she asked soothingly, rubbing Helga's back.

Helga nodded while trying to stop the gagging. Everything had suddenly caught up to her.

"We'll be fine!" Olga said. "Soon we'll have a little baby to look after . . . I already found a local midwife to take care of you. We're a bit of a way away from civilisation . . ."

Helga looked up at her sister who was chewing her lip, thinking.

"Maybe we're too far," Olga finally said, worried. "Maybe we should have stayed a little closer to town . . ."

"Don't worry about it," Helga said, finally standing up. She felt like crap, but still better than before. "Like you said, we'll be fine, and there's a midwife, right?"

Olga nodded.

"Well, let get in the car and go to our new home!" she said. They hopped in the car and drove a little bit more, down the hill, which made Helga nervous, looking over and seeing a drop. Onto house, of course, but still. What a drop!

…...

In December she gave birth to little Ada Pataki. You could see immediately who her father would have been.

The next four months were a nightmare however. Ada suffered both reflux and colic. She cried a lot. Helga had latching problems, that once the initial six weeks were over, the midwife left in the hands of a Plunket nurse, who came around to visit Helga and the baby and make sure it was alright, and that Helga was okay. She gave her information and numbers for support groups.

Helga joined the local Playcentre, and made friends with the other mom's . . . sorry, mum's, they sometimes joked about her accent, and found a little place for herself. When asked about the father she just told them he wasn't interested. The woman nodded, some in understanding. A few talked about the evil that was men. She entered into a bubble. She was delighted that she'd had "a summer baby", rather than a winter one. It was so wet and damp and cold in winter here. There was no snow, but she almost wished there was.

Bob and Miriam came down once a year. Bob was enamoured with his granddaughter, who learned very fast how to manipulate her doting grandfather. Miriam loved it. Bob was completely different when away from his business. And it was nice to spend Christmas on the beach, with bbq lunches and dinners.

Helga sent photo's to Arnold, but got them back a month later with 'Return to Sender' written across it. She also saw a different address, obviously his one for university, written by the old one, which had been crossed out. She sighed, and tried again.

Again she got them back, un-opened with return to sender. She shrugged. She's try again at a later date.

When Ada turned one, she took lots of photo's and sent them along with the old ones. Finally they came back, with another letter following a few days from a lawyer.

"A restraining order!" she had yelled.

Bob and Miriam, who were there for Ada's first birthday both looked up in shock.

"What's that?" Olga asked, coming into the lounge from the kitchen.

"The bastard has a restraining order! I can't contact him, in any way, shape or form!" she yelled. She scrunched the letter into a ball. Fine. He wanted to be like that, let him. He was the one missing out!

Instead, she did a most evil thing in anger.

She sent the photo's and letters to his parents. She drove into town, with Lara, a fellow Playcentre mum, and dropped it in the mailbox. Then they went and had a victory cup of coffee at the Café . . . but once she got home, she felt awful. She didn't even know if Arnold's parents had ever even heard about the rumours.

"Oh, hone," Miriam said, hugging her daughter around the shoulders. "There's nothing you can do about it now."

She got a letter back two months later.

It finished with a request to visit. She looked to Olga. What should she do?

"They can only come down, meet her, then decide for themselves what they want to do," she told her. Olga made the call.

So for Ada's second birthday she had both sets of grandparents there to celebrate. Bob was a little jealous at having to share his little Ada, but Olga and Miriam kept him distracted enough that he didn't say anything too horrible. Though he gave them a good piece of his mind about their son though. They hadn't said much, just how disappointed, they too, were in Arnold.

According to Stella, he had changed a lot after starting University. He was still dating Rhonda, though they silently hoped that it wouldn't last. Rhonda was a nice enough young woman, but their son had changed so much since he started seeing her, that they almost didn't recognize him. It made both his parents sad.

Before they left, Arnolds father took a quick swab from Ada's mouth when no one was looking. It wasn't because he didn't believe Helga. You'd be a blind fool not to see the resemblance of Ada to his son at that age. But because he wanted the proof to show Arnold, and to put aside, should he ever need it.

He didn't know at that time that Arnold had signed all rights away.

…...

"Where were you guys over Christmas?" Arnold asked, walking in.

Stella and Miles looked at each other. What did they say? If they told him the truth he would close his ears and run.

"We took a trip," Miles finally said.

"Where?" he asked, suspicion coming into his eyes.

"New Zealand," Stella said sharply.

Arnold's eyes grew dark. He knew who was in New Zealand.

"Why'd you go there?" he asked, looking around. There was a photo of his parents holding a little blonde girl and smiling. He walked over and looked at it.

"Why do you think?" Stella asked him. "To see our granddaughter."

Arnold sighed.

"Well, Merry belated Christmas," he snapped.

"Arnold, we need to talk . . ."

"How can you take her side!?" he yelled. "I'm your son. She's just a liar!"

"She isn't lying," Miles said, stepping forward. "That girl is your-"

"My life is perfect just the way it is!" he yelled, and stomped out of the house, slamming the door.

He stood outside his parents house, breathing hard. How had she managed to actually have a baby? A treacherous little part of his brain was saying "you know exactly how, you still think about those days and nights, when your not with your girlfriend…"

He shook his head. He'd made a mistake. A terrible mistake. But he couldn't let it stuff up his future. And there was no proof.

But it annoyed him even more when he found out the next Christmas that they had again gone away. He hadn't seen them all year, barely spoken to them, only to find they had gone to New Zealand again. He knew there would be a good reason for this, and although he never said it out loud, he had to admit, his parents would have found a way to check it out by now. If they were still going there it must mean that they were right. Ada was his.

But he couldn't let Rhonda, or anyone else, know that.

He went into his old room at the Sunset Arms, and pulled out a tin box. He dug through til he found what he was looking for. He hadn't actually read it through. But he did now.

It basically said he'd signed away his rights to the child. He had no rights to see the child, or make any decisions in it's upbringing. Basically he had been left as just a donor with no rights at all.

He felt like real tool.

When he came home to visit he would sneak looks at the photo's his parents had. When Rhonda caught him once, he claimed the child in the picture was his cousin Arnie's.

"Don't get clucky," she warned him. He laughed and put the photo's away. But it was getting harder each year knowing his daughter was out there . . . And he would sometimes wonder how different his life would be if she was in it?

…...

Before Ada's ninth birthday Helga got the call from her mother that Bob was really sick.

"We can't make it this year, honey," Miriam told her. "Olga is still going to come down, though."

Olga had returned to America a couple years back. She had experience working on television now, from her stint on a New Zealand show. Well, a couple, actually. She had taken that experience back to the States, and it looked like she might get a part on a soap over there.

Ada had been absolutely gutted when Helga told her. She had yelled that it wasn't fair, stormed to her room and stayed there crying. She decided then that she was going to suck it up and go to them, for a change. So before the summer holidays started Ada had her birthday party with all her school friends. The Friday before Christmas her school broke up, and she'd come home to find that they were going to be going to America to visit her grandparents. Ada rang all her friends and told them all that she was going to America.

"Oh, man," her best friend, Aroha said. "I've only been to Australia!"

"Are you going to Disneyland?" Asia had asked.

"No," Ada answered sadly. "But still, I'll bring you something back!"

Ada met a couple of the local kids down at the beach and hung out around Lion Rock. Helga had stayed in Piha, having fallen in love with the surroundings.

And Andrew.

She was telling them about her trip, when the lifeguards were suddenly rushing into the water with the boat.

"Someone not between the flags," Soraya said.

"Probably the same person they picked out earlier," Raymond said. "Twice already!"

One of the first and harshest lessons learned at this beach: it keep's what it claims. A young woman had disappeared a few years back, and had never been found. A few beaches over even a sports star had drowned, never to be found. It went directly out to the ocean, and along a rocky coast.

Ten minutes later the Rescue Helicopter was flying overhead.

"Wow, this is pretty serious," Ada said.

"We better get going," Soraya said. "I don't want to be here if they pull out a body!"

"Plus our parents will be worried its one of us," Raymond pointed out. So while other beach goers stood on the beach watching the drama unfold, and a T.V crew who filmed a show based on the beach and the lifeguards who worked there, got out there as well, the kids marched home to assure their parents that the helicopter wasn't looking for them.

…...

The airport was busy, and Ada was excited to be going on a plane. She had flown to the Gold Coast in Australia once with her mum and aunt Olga, and gone to all the theme parks and done lot's of shopping. But this was different. This was America! It was a big deal to her, because her grandfather was always going on about how great it was, and how much bigger everything was. She remembered the fit he threw at McDonalds at being given a medium combo.

"Sir, this is a large," the worker had told him.

"It's dry too! And what's wrong with the coke and meat? It tastes funny!"

It was embarrassing, and she could see that her mum was wishing the floor would open up and swallow her. Other people were looking at him, and she heard at least one say "If you don't like it, go back home!" which was followed by a woman telling off the person with "That's a terrible thing to say!"

But it was all water off a ducks back to her grandfather. He was more focused on the food problem.

"I'm sorry our meat tastes different here to America, but I cant help that. I take your order, take your money, give you your food," the teller had said. "That's it. I don't raise the cows, feed the cows, grind them down for patties. I just hand them to you once they're burgers."

Her grandfather had muttered about bad customer service, and complained about the food. Her mother had rolled her eyes at last and told him to build a bridge.

"I will," he'd said. "And that order taker will be the first person I throw off it!"

Ada smiled at the memory. Her grandfather could be so silly!

"There'll be one stop over," her mum told her. "Then we'll be back in my old neighbourhood."

That was another thing that excited Ada about this trip. She was going to see where her mum grew up.

"Do you think any of your old friends still live there?" Ada asked.

"God, I hope not," her mother said under her breath.

Ada frowned. Why wouldn't her mum want to see her old friends.

"What about my dad?" she asked, tentatively.

Helga sighed.

"Can't promise anything," her mum said, and she could tell her mother wanted to say more, but didn't. her mum bit her tongue a lot when it came to talking about her dad. And her other grandparents always looked like they didn't know what to say.

They finally got on the plane, and once comfortable, Ada listened to music on her new ipod. Then she watched a movie. After that she was bored.

"Are you hungry?" her mum asked.

Ada nodded. Her mum took a bag of chips out of her bag and handed them to her.

"Mum, do they have burger rings over there?" she asked.

"Not when I was there, that I know of. It's why I grabbed a snack bag of them," her mum said.

Good, because Ada couldn't live without her burger rings!

At some point she fell asleep, and was woken by her mother, who was telling her to buckle up. The stay over was only two hours, then they were back on a plane again the novelty had worn off for Ada . . .

…...

In Hillwood, Gerald entered his family home and resisted the urge to cover his ears. The noise his nephews were making was astronomical!

"His mother looked around to see her son, all dressed up, standing in the doorway to the living room frowning.

"Hello, Mr. Grumpy," she said. She came over and gave him a hug.

He saw his brother and his wife sitting on the couch watching the boys run around. He also noticed she was pregnant. He asked his mom about it.

"Four months to go," Alisia told him, smiling.

"When you gonna have one, Bro?" Jamie O asked.

"Never," Gerald said, coming in and dropping down onto a chair. His nephews ran over and gave him hugs.

Jamie O could see something was bothering his little brother, but wasn't going to ask about it in front of everyone.

He'd bail him up later and get it out of him then.

…...

Phoebe, Louis and their baby, Michael, burst through the front doors of her parents house. There was lot's of loud talking and hugs and squeals over Michael.

Phoebe's mom wanted to go to the butcher real quick, and take the baby with them. In other words, show of her grandson. Phoebe laughed and got everything ready, then they went. The walk around the old neighbourhood opened Phoebe's eyes. It was actually quite small, but she remembered it being so much bigger.

She really had grown up.

She was telling her mother about their family trip to visit Louis' family, and how they were finally ready to buy their own home. She saw a taxi drive by and was shocked to realize it was Helga! At least, she thought it was. Reba saw her stop and watch the taxi drive by.

"Mom, I think that was Helga!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Maybe," Reba said. "They have the most adorable granddaughter."

Phoebe looked at her mother.

"Granddaughter?" she asked.

"Helga's little girl," Reba told her. "Bob has a picture of her for everyone to see. Hard man, but ask about little Ada and the guy melts and talks on and on about her like she's the bee's knees!"

Phoebe frowned.

"Bob's been sick this year, though, so maybe Helga and her daughter have come here for Christmas?"

Phoebe made the decision then to call the Pataki household and find out. She'd missed her best friend.

Finally getting to the butcher they went in. it was busy, people coming in for last minute orders. Harold was there helping, with another young man. Mr. Green looked a lot older than she remembered. He must be near retirement age, if not there already. Someone jostled into her, pushing her against the handles of the pram. Man it hurt when those things dug into your stomach. She looked up into the chocolate brown eyes of her childhood sweetheart.

"Phoebe?" he said in disbelief.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Hi."

She turned back to facing the front.

Of all the bad luck!

…...

Arnold sat in silence as he listened to Rhonda rant and rave. She was storming up and down the stairs, yelling at him about being a liar.

"Do you have any idea what me and my friends put her though!?" Rhonda screamed at him. "What the rest of the school put her through! Calling her a liar, the tricks, the horrible rumours. And you stood by, knowing that it wasn't true, and let her face it all on her own. You never stepped up to own your own lies!"

Rhonda was in tears and hysterical. She had always been able to justify her nastiness to Helga. G Pataki, but now? She was not dealing with it to well. She had been horrible. So had her friends, and much of the rest of the school. All because Arnold had claimed she was lying.

"All those letters," Rhonda finally said. "They were from her, weren't they?"

Arnold nodded.

"What the hell was in them?" she demanded.

"Pictures," he admitted. "After I sent them back along with a restraining order she sent them to my parents."

Rhonda wiped her tears away.

"My parents will be here tomorrow," she stated.

"I know," he said, looking down.

Rhonda stared at this boy she had fallen in love with in high school. She'd always held a small candle for him. He was always the most sweetest, wisest, caring person she had ever met. He helped her through some tough times when her parents divorced. She'd felt so lonely and embarrassed by the whole ordeal. Then her mother was just gone one day, leaving her with her dad, who was never home. She pushed her friends away, but Arnold somehow managed to sneak through the wall she had been building around herself. It started with just hanging out, then progressed to the point of dating. They had never said to each other "Hey, let's start dating," they just did.

Arnold had changed a bit during high school. But nothing too drastic.

Although now she was wondering. The Arnold she had known in childhood would never have done this! Never lied about such a thing, never shirked from an important responsibility.

Was this why he wasn't fussed if they had kids or not? Because he already knew he had a daughter?

The idea brought fresh tears to her face.

"I can't be here with you," she finally said. Arnold nodded, still looking at the floor.

"I'm going to go stay with my parents for Christmas anyway. That will give us both space," he said to her.

Space? He wanted space? That meant only one thing to Rhonda.

It was over.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello!" he called out. Music was playing in the kitchen so he followed it. He almost dropped dead at the sight before him. His mother was standing at the sink with his daughter, singing along to Justin Bieber. Stella finally noticed him and uncertainty came over her face. She looked at Ada, who looked in the direction her grandma was looking in.

Suddenly Arnold could understand why people would want Bieber dead.

"Arnold, what are you doing here?" she asked, looking nervously in the direction he had come from. Arnold looked behind him.

"Helga will be here to pick Ada up in a moment," she said. "Ada, can you take this plate up to your grandad, please?"

Ada nodded, taking the plate off Stella and heading off towards the stairs. Arnold saw her look up at him as she walked past, but Arnold didn't look her in the eye. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Once she was gone he let out a breath. His head had started to swim he had held his breath for so long.

"I wasn't expecting you home," Stella said, wiping her hands on a tea towel and throwing it on the bench. Arnold knew what that meant. She wasn't happy.

"Rhonda and I are having issues," he told her. "We both needed space."

"Uh huh. So she found out about Ada, I take it?" Stella asked, walking towards the lounge. Arnold followed her and sat down next to her on the couch.

"Yeah, I bumped into-"

"I know. Helga and Ada told me," Stella said.

"Mom-"

"Do you know what she asked me today?" Stella said. Arnold shook her head.

"Why didn't you want her?"

"Helga had no right to tell her I didn't want her!" he seethed, trying to keep his voice down

"She didn't," he heard a small voice say from the doorway. She sounded funny, having grown up in New Zealand, not America, despite her mother's accent.

"I can read," she said. "I read what you wrote to mum, how even if she was pregnant you wouldn't want me if it meant her being in your life."

"She shouldn't have shown you that," he said. Man he felt bad.

"She didn't. I was looking for Christmas presents last year and found a pile of documents, and read them."

"Well . . ." Arnold started. What could he say? "You shouldn't be snooping through your mothers things."

Ada rolled her eyes.

"Your making it really hard to believe all the good things mum told me about you," she said.

"Ada-"

"You didn't even want me to exist," she stated.

"I'm back, sorry Stella," Helga called out walking in the door. She walked in to see Ada staring down Arnold. Helga looked at Stella, who shrugged and shook her head.

"Ada, its time to go," Helga said, gently touching her shoulder. "I got a nice new winter coat. We'll be able to use it back home on the ski fields, too."

Ada turned on her heel and walking out.

"Ada, say goodbye to your grandma, please," Helga told her. Ada sighed, then went and gave Stella a hug and kiss. Then she rushed upstairs to say goodbye to her grandad, who came down with her.

"I'll drop her off at 11:30 on Christmas day," Helga said. "Coat."

Helga pulled it out of the bag and handed it to Ada.

"There's some other winter clothes in the car," she said, walking out the door with her.

The sound of the door closing sounded like a gun going off.

"Do I want to know?" Miles asked.

…...

Getting out of the car, Helga recognized Rhonda immediately. Dressed impeccably to the nines, and standing at her parents door talking to Olga. Rhonda turned when she heard a door slam behind her. Her eyes went wide as she saw Ada, who hopped out seconds later.

Yep, defiantly Arnolds.

"I'm so sorry!" she blurted.

Helga shrugged.

"Shit happens," she said, taking Ada's hand and leading her up the steps. "Careful you don't slip."

Rhonda didn't know what to say. She had a whole speech rehearsed in her head. But she couldn't remember a word of it.

"Mum, I'm cold," Ada whined.

"Oh, sorry," Rhonda said, moving aside. Ada walked into the house, leaving Rhonda and Helga alone on the step.

"Look, it's happened, we cant change anything," Helga said. "I've moved on."

Helga walked past her and into the house.

"Helga-"

"Apology accepted, Rhonda. Good-bye."

And she slammed the door in her face.

…...

"So . . . How have you been?" Gerald asked Phoebe, awkwardly. Phoebe cringed. Why!?

"Fine," she answered.

"Good . . . good . . ." he said.

He was quiet for a moment.

"Yours?" he asked, pointing to her son.

"Yes."

"Cool," he said. She wasn't making this easy. "Want to have coffee?"

"Are you freaking serious?" she asked, voice rising.

"Phoebe, honey, keep your voice down," her mother said soothingly.

"No, Gerald. I don't want coffee with you. For starters, I don't have time. And even if I did? You're the last person I'd have coffee with, unless I'd added cyanide to yours!" she yelled.

Okay, maybe he deserved some of that. But really? Cyanide?

"I'm going home, mom, see you there," Phoebe said, before storming out the shop.

…...

Ada watched the kids playing outside in the snow. They were having a snowball fight. She wanted to go out there and join in, but she didn't know them.

"Just go out and ask to join in," her mother told her.

But she didn't. instead she sat, staring at them out the window until a boy noticed her and waved. She dropped the curtain and moved quickly away from the window.

…...

"There's a kid at the Pataki house!" Darius Johansson called out to his friends.

"But no kids live there," Rory Diener said.

"Well, I saw her!" Darius insisted.

"Should we ask her to come play?" Isabella asked, tugging her red plait.

"Hey, Girl!" Richard called. "Come out and play!"

They saw her peek around the curtains again, and they started to wave her out. Then she disappeared again.

"Stuff this!" Richard said, stomping on the steps and banging on the door.

"Can I help you?" a tall woman asked. That wasn't Olga Pataki . . . which meant . . .

"Are you Helga Pataki?" Richard asked, in complete awe.

Helga Pataki was a legend to the kids in the neighbourhood. She was the meanest, toughest girl who had ever lived!

"Yeah . . ." she answered, a little uncertain.

"Is there a girl in there?" Isabella asked, coming forward.

"Yeah, Ada," Helga told them.

Richard was still in awe. This was the only girl in the whole world who could scare his dad.

Next to his mom.

"Can she come out to play?" Darius asked.

"If she wants too," Helga said, opening the door a little wider. "Ada, they want to know if you want to join them."

Ada slowly and shyly came to the open door.

"We're gonna have a snowball fight!" Richard yelled.

Darius reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her outside.

After a few hours of play, Jamie O came looking for his son, with his brother in tow.

"Darius! Time to go!" he called out.

"That's the only thing about winter that sucks," Darius said, starting towards his dad and uncle. "It gets dark to early."

He dropped his snowball on his way.

"Yeah, we better go as well," Isabella said, reluctantly. "Do you want to play again tomorrow, Ada?"

"Sure," she said. She waved to them as they went.

"See you tomorrow Pataki!" Darius called out.

"I didn't know Olga had a child," Gerald said, watching the girl go inside, a sinking feeling in his stomach he couldn't explain. Why was he suddenly feeling a little queasy?

"Olga? That's not Olga's daughter," Darius told his uncle. "That girl is the daughter of Helga .G. Pataki herself!"

Now he really wanted to be sick.

…...

It didn't take long for the news to get out. Helga Pataki and her daughter were in town. And guess who the daughter took after? Lila immediately called Rhonda to see what gossip she could glean. Rhonda told her to shove it and hung up on her.

That was all she needed. It spread like wild fire through town that Helga hadn't been lying all those years ago, after all. Arnold had lied. Arnold had cheated. Arnold who had always been the golden boy, the go-to-guy for help, perfect in almost everyway.

Was nothing but a liar and a cheater and a shirker of responsibility. When Lila showed up on Helga's doorstep she had the door slammed in her face. But that wasn't going to deter her. Knowledge was power, and she wanted to know all she could on this!

…...

And what better way than to go to the source of gossip! She saw Ada playing with some neighbourhood kids, one she recognized as Gerald's nephew. This was good because he knew her, so it wouldn't seem so strange that she was stopping to talk to them.

"So, who's this little one?" she asked, looking at Ada.

Ada eyed her warily.

"This is Ada Pataki," Isabella said. This was working even better, as Isabella was a child in her class.

"Really?" Lila said. "So will you be going to school here?"

Ada shook her head.

"No, just here for Christmas. Then I'm going home," she said.

"Oh, are you Australian?" Lila asked, trying to place the girls accent.

"No," she said, looking at the woman like she was stupid. "I'm from New Zealand."

"Oh, were you born there?"

"Yeah . . ." Ada said, starting to get suspicious. "Did you know my mum?"

"Oh, yes, we went to elementary, junior high and high school together," Lila answered smiling.

"Wow! So you know my dad, too?" she asked.

Pay dirt!

"Your father?" she asked innocently.

"Arnold," she said.

"Oh, Arnold's your dad?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yeah, but . . ."

"But?"

"He never talks to me or mum. He never wanted me."

"Oh," was all that came out. What could she say? "What makes you say that?"

"Last year I went looking for Christmas presents ad found a box mum keeps hidden in her wardrobe. When I looked in there, there was all these papers," Ada explained.

"What kind of papers?" Lila asked, leaning forward.

"The kind a nosey gossip like you would cream herself reading," Ada said, giving her a smile. "I'm not stupid. I know about you. I read about you in one of my mum's diaries. Your nothing but a nosey, manipulating bitch."

Lila sat back shocked that such things could come out of a young girls mouth.

"Mum's words, not mine," Ada finished, then got up and walked back to her grandparents house, calling out her good byes over her shoulder.

…...

Arnold looked at the gift in his hand. He'd never brought a little girl a gift before, let alone his own child. What did she like? He felt like the worst person in the world. What kind of father knew nothing about his daughter? Then he remembered all those years ago.

Helga had once told him that her father didn't know anything about her. But in Arnold's defence, he hadn't had a chance. Helga had moved away to New Zealand. New Zealand! What was in New Zealand?

"Arnold?" his mother called. He looked up to see Helga and Ada standing in the doorway.

He stood up. Helga looked uncomfortable, looking everywhere but at him. Ada scowled. How was it that she could resemble him, yet still look so much like her mother?

"I can leave her here," Helga said. "I will pick her up at three."

Helga bent down to give Ada a hug.

"I don't want you to go," he heard his daughter whisper, and glance his way.

"Your welcome to stay, Helga," Stella said.

"No. It's fine," Helga pulled away. She looked over at Arnold. Then she whispered something in Ada's ear. Ada sighed and nodded. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Then she left.

Everything was quiet for a moment, no one knowing what to say. Finally Arnold couldn't stand it.

"What did she say?" he asked curiously. Nothing good, I'll bet, he thought to himself.

"Get to know him a bit," she said. She took off her jacket and sat down on the couch next to him.

"But I already have a daddy, so I don't need you."

…...

Helga got back to her parents and snuck up to her room. She was worried. What if she went to pick Ada up and Arnold had run away with her or something? What if he was telling her horrible stories about her? Ada . . . Ada was her baby, the most precious person in her life. She was everything to her.

Finally she just fell onto her bed and cried.

She missed her baby.

…...

Phoebe had been off since the other day. Louis finally got fed up and demanded to know what was wrong with her. She sighed and finally told him.

"Really?" he asked. "Did you mention you were married?"

"I can't remember, but I'm wearing a ring and I have a baby. It would be logical to assume I was," she told him. "I just couldn't believe the audacity of his!"

Louis nodded.

"Well, it's only for a couple more days," he said.

Phoebe sighed.

"That's true," she said. "And I really should try to catch up with Helga."

"There. Tomorrow morning we will got to see if Helga is, indeed, at her parents. You can kiss and make up and all will be well," Louis said to her.

Phoebe just nodded, not so sure.

"How about I bath Michael tonight?" he suggested. "You relax, then once he's down I'll pour you a bath and you can let the world melt away."

He started to massage her shoulders and neck. How had she gotten so lucky?

"I love you, Louis," she whispered.

…...

It was a disaster. Arnold had now locked himself in a bathroom.

"I don't like dolls," Ada stated.

"What do you like?" he'd asked her.

"Stuff," she answered.

"Well, what kind of stuff?" he asked again.

"Why? After I leave you'll forget I exist, right?" she asked.

"What? No, that's not . . . true," he said to her.

"Why? Because your girlfriend left you?" she asked. "So now you have time?"

She was entering into what he would later call Helga-mode.

"Guess that's what you get when you have no part in your child's upbringing," he said to his reflection. Finally he washed his face, then left the bathroom, heading towards the lounge. He couldn't help but feel jealous at the sight before him.

Ada was sitting between his mom and dad, and they were reading a story. She was not an easy person for him to talk too, but then he watched her with his parents and she was completely different. He entered the room, just as a knock came at the door. He looked at the clock and realised it was three o'clock. His mom went to get up, but Arnold strode forward instead and greeted Helga at the door.

She looked a bit surprised.

"I'm here to get Ada," she said.

"Come in," he said, moving aside and letting her pass.

"Mum!" Ada yelled, jumping up and running over to throw her arms around Helga.

"I missed you," he heard Helga whisper.

"You were only gone for a little while, mum," she said. Arnold watched as they continued to talk, then realised that they were about to leave. Fear washed over Arnold.

"Wait, Helga!" he yelled out, louder than he had intended.

Helga turned to look at him.

"Can I talk to you please?" he said. Helga looked at his parents, then back at him. He watched as her mind started ticking over.

"Sure," she said.

"Ada, come with me for a moment. We'll get some Christmas cake for you to take home," Miles said, coming over to take Ada's hand. Stella followed, casting her son a warning look, which he ignored completely.

"We'll talk in my father's study," he said, walking out of the lounge. Helga reluctantly followed him. When they went in Arnold locked the door behind him. This made Helga nervous. She didn't like the idea that she couldn't just leave when she wanted.

"I want access," he said.

"Access?" she asked, almost laughing.

"It's not fair that you know everything and I don't," he said.

"Oh. My. God!" Helga said, laughing more. "No fair? You think knowing nothing about your nine year old daughter not fair?"

Arnold realised he'd just made a mistake. He'd just left himself wide open for a beating.

"Not fair, is being called a liar, by the liar. Being teased and tormented, and pregnant and alone. Not fair is fleeing your childhood home. Not fair is raising a child alone because the father wasn't man enough to own her," Helga told him. He was getting off light. He could tell, just by looking in her eyes. "Not fair, is trying to explain to your daughter why her father didn't want her."

"Okay, I understand-"

"No, Arnold, you don't," Helga snapped. "The first four months of her life, she screamed and cried almost constantly because of reflux and colic."

He nodded. Okay.

"And it was me who was up with her all night, every night, trying to soothe her enough that she could sleep. That I could sleep. What were you doing December through to April back then, huh?" she demanded.

Arnold thought back. He was settling in at University.

"When she was in hospital when she was three after contracting meningitis, it was me who was in the hospital with her for those six weeks, by her bedside, sleeping in a chair, terrified that she was going to die, or worse! Do you have any idea on what meningitis can do? And this even though she was immunised!"

Arnold though back. He would have been getting ready to go into his last year of University. He was so close to graduating.

"And who do you think rubbed ointment on her when she got the chicken pox to stop her from scratching them? Who sat beside her as she got a cast put on her arm after she broke it falling off the monkey bars at school?" Helga asked him.

He looked down. Wow! He'd missed a lot.

"Who put their higher education on hold to raise her?" she finally asked. "Because I know for sure it wasn't you."

She walked right up to him.

"And who signed away his rights to her before she was even born?" Helga asked. "Unlock the fucking door. Now!"

"I want to know her," he whispered.

"No one was ever stopping you Arnold, except yourself. Now open the door."

He looked into her eyes. He saw so many emotions in them.

He turned and unlocked the door.

"We leave in two weeks. After that, you'll be travelling a lot further to see her," she told him.

"Then move back here," he said.

Helga shook her head.

"I'm not uprooting her because you finally decided you want to be dad of the year, Arnold."


	5. Chapter 5

Phoebe stood nervously at the front door of the Pataki house. She was waiting for an answer to her knock. She had Michael and Louis with her, waiting at the bottom of the steps. When the door did open there was a young girl standing there.

"Kia Ora," she said, smiling.

Phoebe smiled uncertainly.

"Um, hi, is Helga here?" she asked.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Phoebe," she answered.

"Muuuuuuuuuuuum!" the girl yelled.

"Who is it?" she heard Helga's voice call back.

"Phoebeeeeeeeeeeeee!" the girl called, looking back at her. "Is that your baby?"

Phoebe looked back to where her husband was standing with her son.

"Yeah, his name is Michael," she told her.

"I have a baby. I mean mum has a baby, but he's at home," she told her. "Daddy is looking after him."

"Oh, what's his name?"

"Wirimu," she said.

"Widdeemoo?" Phoebe tried saying. The girl laughed.

"My name's Ada," she said, holding out her hand.

"Well, nice to meet you, Ada," Phoebe said, shaking her hand.

Phoebe looked up as she saw a red top and jeans come into view.

"Hello, Helga," she said.

"Hey, Pheebs," Helga said.

Silence fell between them.

"I'm Louis," Louis said, breaking the silence and shaking Helga's hand. "This is Michael."

Helga looked over to the baby and smiled.

"Sorry, I'm so rude. Come in," she said, moving back and letting them in.

"No worries. Phoebe's manners were left in the snow, too," he joked. Helga smiled at him.

"Mine were left back home," Helga told him. "Tea? Coffee?"

"I'm breastfeeding," Phoebe told her.

"Milo?" Helga asked. "It's great . . . though it took me a bit of getting used to. Not as much as Marmite did though."

"Okay, sure," Phoebe said.

"I wont say no to coffee," Louis said.

While they sat down, Ada was staring at the baby.

"Can he play on the floor? Or is he too small?" she finally asked.

"Oh, I don't think he can play very much," Phoebe told her.

"Wirimu plays all the time. I filled a coke bottle with water and put glitter in it and he likes to push it with his hands. But I used to have to push it for him, before he crawled," she said. "I can make one for him now!"

Ada ran off to grab an empty bottle and then disappeared into the lounge.

"Sorry," Helga said.

"That's okay," Phoebe said. "Wirimu is an interesting name."

Helga smiled and handed her a cup of milo.

"His dad chose it. It's a family name," she told her.

"Oh. Ada said it was your baby," Phoebe said.

"It is. Mine and Andrews," Helga told her.

"Oh! So your married?" Phoebe asked.

Helga shook her head.

"Not yet," she took a sip of her drink. Phoebe took hers and almost spat it out. It was . . . weird . . . tasting.

"Oh. So, um, what do you do?" Phoebe asked.

"For a job?"

"Yeah."

"Playcentre mum, co-president of the centre," she told her.

"Does it pay well?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Not at all. Andrew brings home the bacon," Helga said. "I study fulltime."

"What are you studying?"

"Psychology. Probably move into specialising in children."

"Here you go!" Ada yelled, coming back with a bottle filled with yellow water and glitter. "I made it yellow so he could see the water too."

"Thankyou," Phoebe said, taking it from her. She showed it to Michael who gurgled and reached for it.

"I put a clean blanket on the floor for him to lay on," she said, helpfully.

"We'll be in in a moment, Ada. We're just having a drink."

"Can I have a cold milo?" she asked. Helga nodded and Phoebe watched as Ada heaped a couple of teaspoons of milo in a cup then poured in milk and stirred it.

"Clean up your mess, too. Grandad wont be too happy to find a mess in his kitchen," Helga said, not even turning to look. She almost laughed as Ada gave a dramatic sigh and went and grabbed a tea towel.

"Not the tea towel, Ada, and sponge."

Now Phoebe was impressed. How did Helga know her daughter had gone for a tea towel? She leaned forward and whispered, "How'd you know?"

Helga laughed.

"You'll see," she said mysteriously. "I'm finished."

"Me too, thanks," Louis said. Helga took his cup and Phoebe's as well, placing them in the sink.

"Let's go to the lounge. Michael can have a roll around," Helga said.

So far so good. Helga didn't seem resentful of all that had happened. But Phoebe still wanted to explain what had happened.

But somehow they talked about everything but what happened all those years ago. every time Phoebe tried to steer the conversation that way, Helga would look over at the kids, then change the subject. Phoebe got the hint and dropped it. So Helga filled her in on what she had been up to and about Ada. And about Andrew.

"He sounds like a great guy," Phoebe said.

"He's awesome!" Helga said, big smile on her face. She started literally gushing about him.

After a while, Michael started to get fussy and Louis decided it might be time to go. Helga saw them out. Ada said bye then disappeared when Miriam called her to the phone.

"It was great seeing you again, Pheebs," Helga said, smiling.

"You too, we should catch up again soon," Phoebe said.

"Yeah," Helga smiled and then waved as they walked off down the street.

It wasn't til Phoebe got home after visiting her parents and sat down that she realised two things. 1. Helga hadn't given her contact details for when she went home. Phoebe didn't even know where she lived. And 2. No details about her wedding except that it was going to happen.

…...

Arnold's second visit with Ada didn't go much better than his first. She was still distant, but talked about her friends, and other people who she considered family.

Plus Helga was present at each one. And he had to go to the Pataki's.

"Aunty Lara is always over," she said. "But she's cool. And Aroha's mum is really funny. We go up to her family's Marae sometimes. It's great!"

He listened as she talked about The Ranges, and all the walks they did to the dams and water falls and the days on the beach.

"I'm going to become a lifeguard too," she said.

"Really?" Arnold asked, interested.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "Andrew volunteers as a lifeguard over the summer, that's one of the reasons he couldn't come with us."

Arnold was starting to feel annoyed and jealous every time he heard Andrews name. he was beginning to wonder who this Andrew guy was. And why would he come on a family holiday with Helga and Ada?

"What's the other reason?" Arnold asked.

"Wirimu is sick," she said.

"Wirimu?" he asked.

"My baby brother," she explained.

Arnold pulled back and took in a sharp breath.

Helga had another child? With another man?

"So Andrew is Wirimu's dad?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, who else would be?" she asked. "He and mummy are going to get married next summer."

Arnold felt like someone had punched him in the guts.

A child and a fiancé?

Helga was going to marry another man?

"Are you alright?" Ada asked, curiously.

Arnold nodded.

"I can't wait," Ada continued, completely oblivious to Arnold.

…...

He was left with his thoughts that night. Thinking back he had realised where things had gone wrong for him. In high school he realised something.

Girls found him attractive.

He had never really given it much thought. He knew Helga was in love with him. He admitted he sometimes used that to his advantage. He took great delight in sometimes shutting her down. Eventually though, it stopped working. Other guys were noticing Helga, and at first she didn't take much notice.

Then rumour went around that she had been seen with Wolfgang and that they were having sex! When Phoebe heard about it she pointed out that it couldn't have been Helga, she was with her that night. But no one listened to her. Helga had upset a lot of people in her short life, so anything horrible about her, real or not, people were quick to jump on and believe.

Even when it was proved that it was Gloria, when she dropped out because she was pregnant, there were still rumours going around about her.

"In the words of Audrey Hepburn, 'I don't care what they say about me as long as it isn't true,'" was all she said to Lila, who came sniffing around for gossip.

But it actually broke Arnold's heart. He was so angry when he realised that in fact, Helga was starting to return affections. She was supposed to love him! That's what she had said. She always had.

It started to eat away at him. And he hated admitting it, but their roles had reversed. He would spill little drops of poison in the new boys ears, Gerald more than happy to back him up, though for different reasons. Helga would be left confused, crushed and hurt. But she never seemed to connect it to Arnold.

Even after he started to date Rhonda, he still kept a very close eye and ear on what Helga was doing. He couldn't help it. Then Rhonda had gone away for spring. A family reunion she simply couldn't get out of. Before that, Arnold and Helga had been paired up on a class assignment. They had been spending a lot of time together, and for some reason Arnold had taken complete advantage of the fact that Rhonda wasn't around. He knew he was in love with Helga. But there was Rhonda. He knew the fallout of him breaking up with Rhonda would be bad for Helga.

But he had to do it. As much as he cared for Rhonda, he didn't love her. Not with the smouldering, possessive passion he felt towards Helga.

But everything got screwed up.

Because of that stupid, fucking, gasbag Lila Sawyer. He often wondered if his grandmother had been putting something in his food when he was a child. It was the only way he could explain why he had had a crush on her.

Finding out Helga was pregnant gave him a shock. All he could see was disappointment on his parents and grandpa's face when he broke it to them. He had freaked out, and had acted out in the worst possible way. Then by the time he had thought about it, it was out. Rhonda was yelling at him, and he just told her it wasn't true. Just to shut her up.

Then Rhonda had started on Helga. In the hallway, in front of the whole school.

Arnold knew he should put a stop to it, but what would everyone say? So he stood by and let Helga take all the abuse hurled at her on her own.

Then school finished, the graduated, and he heard nothing from Helga.

He started University and figured, 'Hey, maybe Helga was lying. Maybe she was hoping to hurry up the split between him and Rhonda by making up a lie.'

It was Christmas after graduation that he got the first letter. It was from Helga. He quickly opened it and saw a picture of a baby, with the name "Ada", written on it.

"What's that?" Rhonda had asked. She'd followed him to University. They were living together.

"Oh, uh," he stuttered.

"Oh my god! Helga!?" she had yelled. "Loser wont give up huh? What is it now? Pictures of some random baby?"

It hadn't occurred to Arnold that this picture could indeed be a random picture sent to make him feel bad. So he put it back in the envelope, with the letter and sent it back with 'Return to Sender' written on it. Each month he received a letter from her, but never opened. Eventually Rhonda had gone to see a lawyer and tell him about "this crazy chick who's been stalking Arnold since school," and he came up with some papers for Arnold to sign that would be sent to her. They effectively banned her from contacting him.

It was sent.

Then two months later he received a call from his parents telling him to come home.

He'd gone, they'd asked, he'd denied. His parents had said they would go and look into this. And they had.

Would have been nice for them to have let him know. He showed up and they weren't there.

They were in New Zealand.


	6. Chapter 6

The day before they were due to leave, Arnold came knocking. When Ada wasn't looking, Helga rolled her eyes. But she kept her opinion to herself, feeling it wasn't fair to push her feelings toward him onto her. Let her make up her own mind.

"Hi, Arnold," she heard Ada say. "We're just packing. I cant wait to go home!"

Ada came running back into the lounge and jumped onto the couch.

"Ada, stop that, you'll fall off," Helga told her. She didn't know what her sister had fed the girl for breakfast, but she was going to make sure Ada never ate it again.

"I was wanting to talk to you again, Helga," he said. Helga tensed up. What now?

"I don't really have time," she said, folding some washing.

"Look, it will only take a moment," he tried again. "And we can do it right here."

Helga turned around and looked at him.

"I want to be able to visit," he said.

Helga looked Ada's way, then at him. Damn. He would have known she wouldn't have gone off her nut at him in front of Ada. Bastard.

"You have to talk to Ada about that," she said, turning and going back to her washing.

"Okay, but we would need to work it out," he said.

"Ada lives in New Zealand, Arnold. And we wont be moving here," she stated.

"Yes, I know. Ada informed me of your upcoming nuptials. And you other child," he said, not being able to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "So I could come to her."

Helga wondered, if she sent her daughter out of the room and killed Arnold, would her family help her cover it up? If she got out of the country fast enough, would she get caught? She didn't want Arnold anywhere near her family back home. He was poison, had been for so long. The hurt he had caused her was still pretty raw. Andrew helped a lot in fixing it, but still. It was a wound that would never fully heal.

It would still be a long time before she could forgive. She had told Phoebe that just the other day. They could never go back to being friends. Helga had moved on from everyone in the neighbourhood. A few had stopped her to say "Hi", and she'd responded in turn, but kept walking. She wasn't interested in talking to anyone, though her and Patty had a good conversation about her and Harold's son, Richard.

"I think he has a crush on you," Patty had joked.

"Like I said, you need to talk to Ada," she said, still not looking at him. She'd given him enough attention in her life. What a waste.

"What do you think, Ada?" he asked.

Ada stopped jumping and looked at her mother. Arnold did too.

"It's up to you sweetie, I can't make this decision for you," she told her.

"I think I wont hold my breath, but you can come visit," she said, going back to jumping around.

Arnold frowned. Not quite the answer he was looking for. He looked to Helga, who finally looked at him and shrugged. No help there.

"Okay," he finally said.

"I'll get you contact details," Helga said, going upstairs to the room.

Arnold watched as his daughter jumped off the couch and turned on the TV. He took a seat next to her.

"So you don't mind me coming to visit?" he asked.

"As long as you don't try causing trouble for mummy and daddy, I don't care," she said.

"Why would I cause problems for your mummy and Andrew?" he asked.

"Because a lady called Lila told me that you used to tell lies to mummy's boyfriends so they would break up with her," she told him. "I love my daddy and mummy and brother. And I don't want you ruining it."

That bloody Lila! The woman just couldn't keep her nose out of anyone's business!

"Well, I promise not to cause any problems or tell Andrew any lies," he said.

"Here you go," Helga said, holding out a piece of paper with Ada's name, address and phone number on it.

"I'm going to go upstairs," Ada announced, then took off.

Helga watched her go, a little worried. Had Arnold said something?

"I will come visit," Arnold promise.

"Whatever," she said, folding her arms.

"Helga, I'm sorry-"

"Don't, Arnold. Okay? It's too late for sorry. Just let it go. It was a bad thing that happened. Cant change it, so just drop it," she said, turning her back on him.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. Her skin was so soft.

"If I could turn the clock back-"

"But you can't, Arnold. And to be honest, I wouldn't want you too," she told him. "I finally found my place. I found somewhere I'm happy, I found lovely friends who have stood by my side, even when we were fighting. I found a whole new family. I found Andrew. I'm not going to accept your apologies, because that to me would be like saying I wasn't happy with my life and it was your fault."

Arnold let her arm go.

"But I am. I've never been happier in my life. Not even during that brief period with you," she finished.

"I did love you, Helga," he said. "I still do."

"You had a funny way of showing it. And that's something you need to deal with, Arnold. Don't put it on me."

He watched as she called Ada down to tell her Arnold was leaving. They said they're goodbyes, though there was no hugging. Then Arnold left.

The damage had been done.

…...

Driving through the neighbourhood on their way home, Phoebe looked out at the streets. So many memories wrapped up in this town. Her with Helga, her with Gerald.

She couldn't wait to leave.

She had been told in no uncertain terms that her and Helga would never be friends again.

"I'd say hi if I saw you in the street, Phoebe, but nothing else. Sorry."

Phoebe had cried on Louis' shoulder.

Then there was Gerald. They'd bumped into him one more time while out at a family dinner. He once again asked Phoebe to coffee. Louis had come up behind him without either knowing.

"I'm not interested, Gerald," she said.

"We wouldn't need to tell your husband, it could be between us," he'd said.

"Except that you just told her husband," he said. Gerald had jumped out of his skin, and turned around fast enough to get off balance and knock into a waiter, who in turn dropped the drinks. Glass shattered everywhere.

"If you're going to invite a woman to have an affair it would probably be a good idea not to do it while her husband was standing behind you," he'd said with a smile on his face, but murder in his voice.

Gerald had slunk away. Phoebe had laughed hard.

"That was classic," she said, throwing her arms around him.

She smiled. She may have lost her childhood best friend. But she still had Louis and their son. She could be happy with that.

…...

Arnold finally went home. Rhonda was sitting in the living room, looking through notebooks. She looked up when she heard him come in. they both stared at each other silently. Rhonda broke first.

"Did you see her?" she asked.

Arnold nodded. He came in and sat down across from her. Silence fell between them again. What could he say? What did she have to say?

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Rhonda nodded, sighing.

"Was it worth it?" she asked.

"What?" he asked. "Meeting Ada?"

"No. creating her," Rhonda snapped.

Arnold thought she was being sarcastic so he didn't answer.

"Is she worth it?" Rhonda asked.

"Ada?"

"No. Helga," she said, folding her arms and glaring at him.

"This isn't about Helga," he told her. And he was being rueful.

"Whatever. It was always about her," Rhonda said. "You know sometimes you used to say her name in your sleep?"

Arnold looked up at her.

"If you two want to destroy each other do it," Rhonda said. "But stop destroying others in the process."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Oh, please, Arnold!" Rhonda yelled. "You sabotaged her relationships in high school! You always needed to know what she was doing and who she was with. After that rumour of her and Wolfgang sleeping together came out, you changed."

She stood up and glared down at him.

"Did you ever love me?" she demanded. "Because you always loved her, didn't you?"

"Rhonda-"

"Isn't that what you told her?" she asked, moving towards him. "That you love her and always have. Is that why you cheated on me? Turned her boyfriends against her?"

Arnold shook his head.

"That isn't love, Arnold," she told him. "What you did to her . . . It's not love. Love is what Curly did for us. Stepping aside and letting the person you love be happy. He warned me, you know."

Arnold looked at her again.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He warned me about you and Helga. I ignored him because I stupidly thought I had the perfect guy. Your not perfect," she said, shaking her head. "I feel sorry for Helga, with you around. You'll never let her be happy, will you?"

Arnold shook his head.

He wanted her to be happy.

Just not with Andrew. But she was engaged to the guy. She had a baby with him.

"I'm seeing them off tomorrow," he told her. "Me, my parents, and Helga's family. I'm going for my daughter."

"Does your daughter even want you?" Rhonda asked.

Arnold didn't answer.

"Thought as much," Rhonda said. "I don't want you around either."

Arnold didn't even offer to help her take her bags to the car. He sat back and watched her leave.

Why didn't he care?

…...

The goodbyes were awkward. Bob was well enough to see them off, Miles and Stella were there, too. And Arnold. Helga left him to talk to Ada alone. But she still kept a very sharp eye on them, ready to dash over there if he tried anything.

"I'll come visit in a couple of months, okay?" he told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because if you don't and Andrew finds out he'll come over here and kick your arse."

It always surprised Arnold, the words that came out of her mouth. Arse sounded so much worse than ass.

"I'll make a promise to you, right here, right now," he said, holding out his pinky.

"Are you serious?" she asked, looking at him like he was mental. "I'm too old for pinky promises, dad."

She immediately looked shocked.

"Arnold. I'm too old for pinky promises, Arnold," she corrected.

But it was out. She had called him dad. He looked at Helga, who had heard as well, judging from the look on her face. She looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.

Arnold was grateful for that. It couldn't have been easy for her to keep quiet. He blinked back tears. How could one word blow up his entire mind and heart?

"Fine," he said, voice breaking. "Regular promise. I'll be there for Easter."

"Ada, honey, we need to get going," Helga said. Ada looked at Helga then at him.

"Okay," she said, giving him a hug. He hugged her back.

"And I'll call you, too," he said, as she walked away.

She just waved and disappeared into departures and was gone.

…...

Ada noticed her mum was very quiet on the plane. She was scared that she was angry. She had put on headphones to listen to music and was reading a book. Finally, three hours in Ada tapped her mum's arm.

"Yeah?" Helga said.

"Are you angry?" she asked.

"Why would I be angry?" he mum asked, smiling. She looked sad though.

"Because I called Arnold dad," she said quietly.

Her mum sighed.

"No, I'm not angry," Helga said, trying to think of a way to explain her fears to her daughter. "I'm just worried he will let you down and make you sad."

"Oh," Ada said.

"I love you, Ada. More than anything and anyone in the world," she said. "I want you to be happy."

Ada still didn't quite understand what her mum meant, but figured she would when she was older. It's what Aunty Lara always told her.

"You'll understand when your older."

…...

Andrew was waiting at the airport for them when they came home, Wirimu in his arms.

"He's all over his cold," he told Helga.

Helga gave him cuddles and kisses.

"How's your sister doing?" she asked him.

He frowned.

"Not too well," he said.

Helga felt bad for Andrew. His sister was a lost soul. She hadn't told the family she was pregnant, and no one had known until CYFS had rung up asking them if they could take in her baby son because his mother was unfit to take care of him. He'd been lucky to escape from the accident that Andrews sister had had, after smashing into a power pole after a weekend of drugs. Helga had jumped in saying of course they'd take him in.

They had been able to contact the father, but he was in prison at the moment for aggravated robbery and assault, and his family had cut him loose a long time ago. To make things simpler and avoiding explaining to much to Ada, they just told her he was their baby and was staying with them for a while, and if asked to just say he was her baby brother.

They were barely home an hour before kids started marching in the door and friends came to welcome Helga and Ada home.

Andrews brother showed up later that night, four boxes of beer in their arms. Helga rolled her eyes. Looks like they were going to be settling in for the week. She'd gotten used to it, but it still annoyed her sometimes. When she first started living with Andrew it always shocked her how his family would just randomly show up, stay for days to weeks on end, giving a bit of money here and there, then disappear without saying a word. These days though, it was less shock, more exasperation.

Ada loved it though, especially when the cousins came over. And Andrew had such a large family. On the plus side, they always brought food with them.

Once they had some time, Helga pulled Andrew aside to fill him in on everything that happened. He grew concerned.

"Will this affect my application for adoption of Ada?" he asked.

"I don't know," Helga admitted. "We'll have to see our lawyer."

They were quiet for a moment.

"Is he going to be difficult?" Andrew asked.

Helga had a feeling that he was, so she nodded.

"Possibly. His relationship has fallen apart recently, and he's suddenly decided he wants to be a dad. I'm worried things will get out of hand and Ada's going to get hurt," she confessed to him. "I'd kill him."

Andrew sighed.

"Get in line."

…...

Easter rolled around, and true to his word, Arnold showed up a week before. Andrew had told Helga to offer Arnold the spare room, which they did.

"We cant just put him in a tent in the yard?" Helga had asked.

Andrew had laughed, then shook his head.

"No, it's getting a little cold for that, love," he'd said, kissing her.

"What about a cabin? We can rent a cabin for him," she tried again.

Andrew shook his head, and went down and got the spare room ready.

Wow! This was going to be an uncomfortable three weeks…

…...

Arnold was feeling a little queasy after the windy trip. His ears had popped, his stomach dropped and rose, and he was feeling dizzy. And all he could smell coming down that monstrosity of a hill was burning breaks. And hear them, squealing as they seemed to struggle to keep the car plunging over the edge and onto a house. Or bush. All the while Indian music was playing, which only made him feel worse. So when the car slowed down he felt relief. Until he saw the steep driveway they had to go up. Then he held back a groan. Not cool. So he closed his eyes and waited for the taxi to stop. When he opened his eyes he saw Helga standing on the steps of a deck holding a baby. He looked at it. It didn't resemble her at all!

He got out and grabbed his things. This taxi driver was not getting a big tip. He handed money to the taxi driver, who then handed him his change - correct change - then he drove off.

"He didn't take the tip," Arnold said.

Helga laughed.

"Your so American!" she said, coming down the stairs. "Tips arent expected here. I did it a few times and they will just look at you with a 'huh?' look on their face. The first time I did it to a McDonalds worker she didn't know what to do with it."

Arnold shook his head.

"Did she take it, though?" he asked.

Helga shook her head.

"No. She dropped it into the charity box they had," she said. "They're not allowed to accept tips directly, so tips generally just end up in charity boxes."

Arnold nodded. Good idea.

"I'd help, but," Helga shrugged. Arnold brought his suitcase up the stairs, worrying the whole time they would break and he would fall. finally he followed Helga down the hallway and into the spare room. It was light and breezy, and he could hear the surf crashing to the shore. The bed was nicely made.

"You can use the drawers, they're empty," Helga told him. "The wardrobe isn't though. Its full of kids crap."

Arnold just nodded.

"Thanks for this, Helga," he said, turning to her and smiling.

"Thank Andrew. If I had my way, you'd be in tent outside," she told him.

Arnold didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet.

"Ada usually gets home at four, but we can pick her up if you want," Helga said.

The thought of going through that drive again made Arnold feel sick. It must have shown cause Helga laughed.

"Alright, I'll let Lara know."

…...

Helga left Arnold alone.

"Going to get some milk!" she called out, waltzing out the door with the baby. He watched her put him in a pram then walk off down the driveway. He took the chance to look around. There were lots of photo's of Ada. One wall had a hanging that had her from newborn, to every year on her birthday. There were school photo's, photo's with friends, photo's with who he assumed to be Andrew. And Andrews family.

There were pictures everywhere. Ada looked happy in all of them, nothing like the little girl he had been getting to know back home.

He felt a great empty sadness. He had missed all of it, all because of a stupid ego. When he heard the front door open he figured it was Helga.

"Hey," a man's voice said from behind him. He turned and blanched.

"Um, Helga's getting milk," he said quickly, in case the guy thought he was robbing them. The man was obviously of Maori decent. He had a smile that just promised trouble. In a good way.

"So your Arnold?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Arnold nodded and shook it.

"I'm Andrew."


	7. Chapter 7

"I need to go see my mum," Andrew said, grabbing his suitcase.

"Oh, um, okay," Helga said. "Is everything okay?"

"No, she's in hospital," he told her. Then he stopped, turned to Helga and kissed her. "Can you get the place ready? Just in case?"

Helga nodded. She had gone through this two years ago when his dad had died. It had given her the willies having a body in the house leading up to the funeral. It was such a strange custom to her, but to everyone else it was like a normal everyday thing. She hadn't slept once that whole week his father was in the living room. It was a relief when the funeral came and his father's body removed from the house and buried. The idea of going through it all again . . .

And how was she going to explain it to Arnold?

"Hey, my boyfriends mum just died, so we're going to have her body in the living room until the funeral" ?

Yeah, that's what she was going to have to tell him. Also that it was about to get very busy around here.

"I love you," Andrew said, kissing her quickly, then grabbing his bag and rushing out the door.

"What's going on?" Arnold asked, coming out of the spare room, looking all dishevelled. 'And sexy,' Helga thought, then mentally slapped herself. She looked away and went into the kitchen to finish making breakfast.

"Andrew's mother is in hospital," she told him, placing cheese and tomato onto crumpets.

"Is it bad?" he asked, taking a seat at the table.

Helga nodded. Then she took a deep breath.

"Arnold, I need to tell you something," she started.

"Mummy I don't feel well," Ada croaked, coming out shivering.

"What's wrong?" she asked, coming over.

"My neck is sore," she said.

"Where?"

"Inside," she said, opening her mouth wide. Helga moved her over to the window so light would help her see.

"Shit," she hissed.

Arnold's eyes widened in surprise. Had Helga just sworn in front of their daughter.

"Okay, ice block, then we'll go see the doctor," she said, going to the freezer and pulling out a lemonade popsicle. "Looks like tonsillitis again."

Ada wrapped herself in a blanket then Helga guided her to the couch and turned the TV on for her.

"I just need to talk to Arnold, and then I'll be with you okay?" he heard her saying. Ada just nodded.

Helga came back and sat down across from him.

"Okay, lets try this again," she said. "If his mother dies they'll be bringing the body here."

"All the way here?" he asked, surprised. "Do they have a funeral home all the way out here?"

Helga shook her head.

"No. I mean here. As in, the house," she explained.

Arnold almost spat out his coffee.

"In this house?" he asked, certain he was just misunderstanding.

Helga nodded.

"She'll be kept in the lounge," she told him. Arnold automatically looked at the lounge where his daughter was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Your letting a dead body be kept in the same house as our daughter?" he demanded.

Helga shook her head.

"No, I'm letting a body be kept in the same house as my daughter," she corrected him. "And it's not just a body, Arnold. This woman is practically her grandmother."

"Why, because your marrying the guy soon?" Arnold asked bitterly.

Helga sat back and glared at him.

"No. look, I don't need to justify anything I choose to do with my daughter. And you have no right to come here and tell what I can and cant expose her too," Helga said. "You gave up that right."

She got up and called the doctor to make Ada an appointment. When she was finished she went over and sat on the couch nest to Ada.

…...

Arnold took a walk to clear his head. He walked down to the beach, digging his toes into the black sand. The waves were huge, and he could feel the spray being blown onto his face. He looked to his left and saw what looked like another beach, with people walking over the rocks to get to it. To his left was a huge rock known as Lion Rock. It cast it's shadow over the beach. He saw some people walking up it, so headed that way. When he was at the base of the steps he heard a hissing noise. Intrigued he followed it over to the rocks, climbing over them and looked into a small cave.

What must have been hundreds of crabs were crammed in there.

"Heaps, ay?" Ada said behind him. Arnold looked up to see his daughter standing there.

"Ada wanted to know where you were," Helga said, climbing up behind her. "Now you know, so lets go home."

He watched as Helga and Ada climbed down from the rocks and back to the beach. He looked at the crabs again, then followed them.

"The sands black," he said.

"It mostly is along the west coast," Helga told him.

They walked along in silence, Helga picking Ada up to carry her over the bit of water that ran down from the lagoon to the waves. It wasn't deep, but it was cold. Then they walked up past the dairy/café, past the Lifeguard House and along the road under the trees and back to the house. The driveway was a killer. Arnold could see why Helga liked it here, though. It was nice.

But still . . .

Helga sent Ada to bed, then went into the kitchen and pulled out a plate of scones. She set them on the table in front of Arnold and brought out butter, jam, and vegemite.

"Out of marmite," she said, putting a knife down in front of him.

"Marmite?" he asked. Helga looked at him and shook her head.

"Nevermind. Habit," she said, cutting a scone open then spreading vegemite on it.

Silence fell between them again as they ate.

"So, volcanoes erupting, huh?" Arnold said.

Helga nodded.

"Should we be worried?" he asked.

Helga shook her head.

Arnold gave up. She obviously didn't want to talk. That was when Arnold realised there was no baby.

"Where's Wirimu?" he asked, stumbling a bit on the name.

Helga sighed.

"Andrew took him with him to see his aunties," Helga told him.

"So it's just you, me and Ada?" he asked. 'As it should be', a little voice in his head whispered.

"Yep," she said, wiping crumbs onto a plate and taking them over to the sink.

"So . . ." Arnold didn't know what to say or talk about.

"I'm going to do the washing," she said.

Arnold watched her leave and let out a big sigh. It was so awkward with her. At least with Andrew he had been able to have a conversation. He couldn't believe how easy going the guy was. No way would he be as friendly and accommodating to a guy who had done to his partner what Arnold did to Helga and Ada. He wondered how the guy did it, though he suspected the smell he could smell coming from the "Men's Shed" when his brothers were over had something to do with it. It actually annoyed him. He had noticed that the parents here just drank around the kids, breastfed right in front of everyone. It was almost like a trailer park, but with houses.

Helga had laughed when he told her that.

"That's what Dad said," she'd told him.

"I got to go into town to pick up Ada's Easter Eggs," Helga told him.

"I can stay here with her," he told her. He watched as Helga looked uncertain, looking between him and Ada. He could see she was torn. Leave her daughter with her deadbeat dad she barely knew, or Ada miss out on Easter.

"No, it's okay," Helga said. "I can go on Saturday. Hopefully she will be better by then."

Annoyance flared up in Arnold. What did she think he was going to do?! He couldn't get anywhere, unless he called a taxi. And even then, if he was stupid enough to try a stunt like that, which he isn't, they'd get stopped before they had a chance to leave the airport no doubt.

"I'm not going to steal her, or badmouth you and Andrew to her, Helga," Arnold said, his annoyance showing his voice.

Helga just shook her head, and grabbed a book and started reading.

…...

What a nightmare it had been trying to wrangle Helga's phone number from her sister. She finally gave in when he managed to convince her he wanted it only to ring Arnold. She had handed it over reluctantly and warned him she better not hear of any dramas.

So he sat in his kitchen, dialling the number and hoping he could get hold of him. The phone rang for a little bit before a groggy voice grunted.

"Hello?" he asked.

"It 2 in the fucking morning, what do you want?" a croaky voiced woman demanded.

"Shit, sorry, I was looking for Arnold," he said.

"Gerald? Is that you?" the woman asked.

"Helga?" he asked. "Well at lest I have the right number."

"Fuck you," she said. He could hear her a few seconds later banging on a door.

"What?" he heard a tired, muffled voice ask.

"Gerald Fucking Johansson on the phone for you," he heard Helga grump. "He better not have woken up Ada or I'll be making a special trip to bury him alive."

"Hello?" he heard Arnold ask.

"I cant stop thinking about her, man," Gerald said.

"Huh?" Arnold asked, confused. Well, it was two in the morning where he was.

"Phoebe," he said.

"Oh," yawn "Right. Phoebe."

Arnold didn't say anything else.

"Man, are you awake?" Gerald asked.

"Huh, what?"

"What should I do, man?" Gerald asked.

"I don't know Gerald," Arnold yawned again. "Look, I gotta go to the lounge or I might wake Ada."

"How are things going with your daughter?" he asked.

"Fine," Arnold said shortly.

"And Helga?"

"Not so fine," Arnold said, sighing.

"Whats this new man of hers like?"

"Seems alright," Arnold said, speaking a little louder. "So, Phoebe."

"Right, Phoebe. So she's married with a kid man, a kid," he said.

"Yeah, I remember you telling me," Arnold said.

"How did we fuck up so bad, Arnold?" Gerald asked.

Arnold was quiet on the other end.

"Still awake man?" he asked.

"Yeah, wide awake," Arnold answered. "I don't know, Gerald. I really don't."

Gerald was quiet. It was good to talk to Arnold, but would have been better if he were there sharing a beer with him. He missed him.

"What would you do differently?" Gerald asked.

Arnold was silent.

"I would have broken off with Phoebe properly," Gerald said. "Arnold?"

"I would have stayed by Helga's side," Arnold said finally. "I don't know why I didn't. I loved her. But . . ."

"I get ya," Gerald said.

"I'm gonna get her, Gerald," Arnold said.

"What do you mean?" Gerald asked, a little worried. What did Arnold mean?

"Ada is my daughter. Helga is Ada's mother. It should be us three, not . . . shit."

"Arnold?" Gerald asked.

He heard the phone drop and heard Arnold call out to Ada. Then he heard Helga asking what the hell was going on?

Gerald pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it. Seemed as though his conversation with Arnold was over, so he hung up.

He'd give him a call later.

…...

"Ada," Arnold called, dropping the phone and heading towards her. She'd taken off down to her room and slammed the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Helga asked coming out.

"He wants to take us away!" Ada screamed through her door.

"What?" Helga asked, looking at Arnold.

"He came to take us away!" Ada screamed again.

"Ada, that's not what I meant," Arnold said.

"Yes it is. You said you were going to get mummy back, because I'm you daughter and she's my mummy and it should be you me and mummy not me mummy and Andrew!" Ada yelled.

Arnold began stuttering.

"What is she talking about?" Helga asked, glaring at him. "What's going on?"

Arnold just shook his head.

"Helga, I-"

"I hate you, Arnold!" Ada screamed through the door. "You promised you wouldn't cause trouble if you came to visit. But all you want to do is break up mummy and Andrew so she'll be with you!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Helga I can explain," Arnold said, following her down the hall and trying to catch her arm. She pulled away.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" she screamed.

"Look, I said something and she's misunderstood," he explained, hoping she would buy it.

"Leave!" she yelled.

"Helga-"

"Get out!" she screamed, slamming her bedroom door on him. He stood there for a second before he heard glass shattering. He didn't know wether to look in on her, or just walk away in case she had a weapon.

He had no doubt she would use it on him, if she did.

Instead he walked back to the spare room he was staying in and sat down on the bed, putting his face in his hands, resisting the urge to break down and cry. Helga hated him. His daughter hated him. No doubt Andrew was going to hate, and he had to admit, it scared him a bit. He was a big guy, and well built. And as easy going as he was, Arnold could also tell he loved Helga and Ada. He also remembered the veiled threat one of his brother's made.

"People disappear out here all the time. One body was in the Waitaks for at least 15 years, right next to a tourist spot. Took them that long to find a body, and it wasn't exactly hiding, you know?"

Arnold didn't want to be one of those people.

He fell back and stared at the ceiling. What a disaster. Then he listened harder. He could hear Helga crying through the wall. She was also talking to someone . . . Or maybe herself. Ten minutes later he heard her go answer the door and heard Lara's voice. Nope, she'd been on the phone. He got up and packed, then went out to the lounge to use the phone to call a taxi. Neither Helga nor his daughter wanted him there, and Andrew wouldn't once he got home, so it was best to leave.

When he came out he saw the two woman sitting at the kitchen table, a bottle of rum and two bottles of coke sitting between them. Lara glared at him. Helga looked away.

"I'm going to go check on Ada," Lara said quietly. She left and went down the hallway to Ada's room and knocked on the door calling for her.

Arnold picked up the phone and was about to dial a taxi when Lara came back.

"She's not in there, the little monkey," she said calmly, though even Arnold could see panic in her eyes.

"What? Is she in my room?" Helga asked, getting up and going to check.

Arnold hung up the phone.

"I'm putting a permanent lock on that window," Helga said, coming back into the dining area. She looked at Arnold. "This is your fault."

She grabbed a jacket and threw it at him, then put one on herself.

"I'll stay here in case she's just hiding," Lara said, going back down the hallway.

Arnold followed Helga outside.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Lion Rock," Helga told him. "She goes up there all the time."

"At night?" he asked.

Helga shook her head.

"No, I'm hoping she's just gone to Aroha's or something," Helga said. "Lion Rock isn't the safest climb during the day, let alone at night."

"How come?" he asked.

"It's slipping away. Almost every times it rains."

They started to jog down to the beach, past the houses with their lights out. Once they got to the beach Arnold realised just how cold it was, with the ocean breeze coming in from the waves. The moon was full, so there was light, yet the beach seemed so . . . Menacing. He put it down to the thundering waves, debris littered on the beach, a log of which he tripped on (and he swore he heard Helga do a snort-laugh). Helga made a beeline for Lion Rock and Arnold felt apprehension filling his body. He didn't like the walk during the day.

"Stay down here," Helga said, pulling out her cell phone and turning on the torch, and starting up. Arnold crossed his arms and called up if she was sure she didn't want him to go up. She told him to shut up and wait.

Five minutes later she came back down.

"Was she there?" he asked.

"What do you think, Football Head?" Helga asked. "Do you see her with me?"

She was coming down on her bum. She couldn't see the stone steps at all.

"Let's get out of here," she said. "Just in case the tide comes in."

After that they walked down to the end of the beach.

Suddenly Helga's phone started going off.

"Hello?" she said, answering it. "What?

She moved around.

"Stupid reception. Hello? Lara? What? She is? That little monkey!" Helga pulled the phone away and turned to Arnold. "She's fine. She's at a friends house. Yeah, Lara, we're on our way back. Yeah, I'll ground her tomorrow, see you."

"At least she's okay, right?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah. Man I need a drink," Helga put her phone back in her pocket. Arnold took a good look around them. There were no houses anywhere near the beach down this end. From his short walk he knew there was a swampy lagoon just over the sand dunes. He took a deep breath, pulled Helga to him and kissed her.

…...

An hour later and Lara was trying Helga's cell again. Where were they? She was starting to worry. Half an hour after that they finally came trudging in the door. One look was all it took for Lara to know why. Helga looked angry. Arnold muttered a goodnight and went to the room he was staying in.

"Please tell me you didn't," Lara said, handing her a rum and coke. Helga shook her head.

When the phone rang she groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," Lara said, grabbing the phone.

"Hello? . . . Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry . . . Yeah, here's Helga," Lara said, pulling the phone from her ear and handing it to Helga.

"Hello?" she asked. Who would be calling this time of the morning?

"What's Lara doing there at this hour?" Andrew asked.

"Long story. What's wrong?" she asked, pouring herself another rum and coke.

"Mum passed away an hour ago," he told her.

"I have the house ready," she said in a quiet voice. She didn't know what else to say.

"We'll be there in a couple of days. Got to go through the legal stuff, then we'll be back with her," he told her.

"Okay, I'll see you then," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Andrew said making kiss noises through the phone. Helga laughed and copied him.

"Take it to the bedroom, babe," Lara said, pouring herself a drink.

Helga hung up.

"So what happened?" Lara asked.

Helga started at the beginning and finished describing the fight on the beach.

"Wow," Lara said. "So let me get this straight. He gets you up the duff, calls you a liar, gets the whole school in on it, denies Ada's existence, comes waltzing into her life nine years later, confusing the shit out of her most likely, then comes down here, tries it on on the beach, tells you he loves you and wants you to be a family, him you and Ada, then gets pissey-eyed because you tell him no?"

"That about sums it up, yeah," Helga said.

Lara shook her head.

"Wow, just wow," she said finally.

Helga agreed.

"So Ada heard Arnold say something on the phone to his friend Gerald, and yelled that he wanted to take me and her away from Andrew. She's freaking out," Helga told her.

"Well, what exactly did Arnold say?" Lara asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"I don't know. But I'm thinking Ada didn't misunderstand too much, judging by what occurred on the beach," she told her. "Argh! This is the worst time!"

…...

Arnold left later that morning, and headed back home.

He caught up with Gerald and told him everything that happened.

"SO then I kissed her, and she kissed back, Gerald, I know she did, then she hits me and starts screaming at me "Who do you think you are?!" and proceeds to scream at me everything I have done wrong, and that I had no right to come around fucking her life up again," he finished.

"Wait, so let me get this straight?" Gerald said. "They're going to keep the body in the house? In the lougne?"

"Really, Gerald? After everything I tell you, that's what your worried about?" Arnold asked.

"Dude, it's a body. In the house. Man, I thought that's what funeral homes were for," he said.

"Well, apparently it's completely normal in the Maori culture. People will even be sleeping in the lounge with it," he told him.

"Man, that it too creepy," Gerald said.

"I know. And poor Ada is living in that chaos," Arnold said.

They were both quiet for a moment, letting it sink in.

"Well . . . What did Ada think of it?" Gerald asked, curious.

"See, that's the thing, Gerald. She was just like 'meh', about it all! Apparently they did it the same way when Andrews father died a couple years back," Arnold told him.

"Wow," Gerald said, leaning back in his chair.

Arnold just shook his head.

…...

A week after the tangi for Andrew's mum Helga got a call from Miriam.

"You need to come home, Helga," she'd said on the phone.

Helga rushed around getting things ready.

"Are you taking Ada or leaving her?" Andrew asked. "Cause I don't mind if you leave her."

"No, it's fine. You relax," she said. "Spend time with family. I'll take her with me."

She leaned forward and kissed him.

"It might be the last time she sees him," she whispered sadly. Andrew nodded.

She told Ada what was going on and Ada got excited again. Helga had told her not to tell Andrew what had happened. Helga had just told Andrew that Arnold felt he should leave the family to mourning. She told him nothing else. Andrew was in a haze of grief and didn't ask anything else, anyway. He had more concerning issues to deal with.

Like his sister.

So three days after the call, Ada and Helga were again making their way back to Hillwood.

…...

"Phoebe, it's for you," Louis called out. She came in asking who it was.

"Helga," he said, smiling and handing her the phone.

"Helga?" she asked, frowning. What was Helga calling for?

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pheebs, its me," she said.

"Helga, what a nice surprise," she said.

"Not really. I just thought I'd call to let you know my dad passed away last night," she said. "Um, I know this is gonna sound weird, but do you think you could come?"

Phoebe didn't even think twice.

"I'll be there as soon as," she said. "See you soon."

"Thanks, Pheeb's. bye," Helga hung up.

"What's going on?" Louis asked.

"Helga's dad died last night," she told him. "I'm gonna go back for the funeral."

"Okay, do you want me to come along?" he asked. Phoebe shook her head.

"I don't really want to drag Michael all that way, plus funerals arent really suitable for babies and young children," she told him.

"Okay, well, give Helga my love," he said.

Phoebe smiled at him.

"I will," she said kissing him.

…...

"Ada's hiding in the room, not wanting to talk to anyone," Helga said, standing to the side and letting Phoebe in.

"Poor thing. I take it she was close to Bob?" Phoebe asked.

Helga just nodded and went and started to make drinks.

"Here, Helga, let me do that," she said, taking over and shooing Helga into a seat.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Miriam's drunk herself unconscious and Olga's out buying food for the wake," Helga said, taking a seat. "Jesus, I only just helped Andrew bury his mother last week, and this week I'm burying my dad."

Phoebe looked at her friend with sympathy. How horrible it must be. She walked over and gave Helga a hug, who hugged her back.

"I'm sorry, Helga," she whispered.

"Don't be, you don't control who does and doesn't die," Helga said,

"Not just about that, Helga," Phoebe said.

Helga shook her head.

"Been, gond, done. Forget about it," she said. "Forgiven."

Phoebe smiled. Even though she had said that her husband and child were enough to make her happy, there was a little piece of her missing, that had been since Helga and she had stopped talking. She had the piece back, and wasn't going to los it again. She'd make sure of that.

"Anyway, thanks for coming down," Helga said.

"Anytime," Phoebe told her, going back to the drinks. "So have you seen Arnold?"

Helga shook her head. Then spilled everything that had happened during Arnold's visit. Phoebe stood with her mouth agape.

"Really?" she asked.

Helga nodded.

"Unbelievable!" Phoebe said. "What a cheek!"

Helga looked around.

"Man, it's quiet," she said.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, when Andrews father died the whole family came and stayed in the house or camped outside. Same for his mother's funeral. The family gets together, eats together, mourns together. Where here, it's just me, Miriam and Olga banging around the house," Helga told her. "It's kind of sad."

"The whole family?" Phoebe asked.

Helga nodded and explained the custom to her.

"How . . .creepy," she said.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep a wink that first time, but the second time around it wasn't so bad," she said. "I feel bad for dad in a way, left all alone in a funeral home without family and friends around. Talk about lonely."

Phoebe nodded. It did seem lonely . . .

…...

Arnold showed his face at the funeral, as did Gerald and most of Hillwood. For all he was the grump of Hillwood, he was well known.

He saw little Ada in her black dress with black bow in her hair.

Helga looked beautiful to Arnold, also wearing a black dress just past her knees and heels, hair back in a plait. But it was Ada who broke his heart. The poor girl was clinging to Helga and looked terrible.

He wanted to scoop her up and cuddle her and kiss her, but he didn't dare. She looked back once and saw him, then looked away again. It was Arnold's parents who gave Ada and Helga hugs, and kissed little Ada, and offered to take her for the night.

"Come by for dinner, Arnold," his mom said. "Please?"

And Arnold agreed, and did show up. His parents were trying everything they could to get Ada to be happy. And they did manage to get some smiles out of her, but not much more. Arnold had had a bit to drink and his father talked him into staying the night. He slept in a spare room and was just about to sleep when his bedroom door creaked open. He looked over to see Ada standing in the doorway.

"Ada?" he asked, confused. What was she doing? A thought crossed through his head that she might be there to kill him. Where did his imagination come from?

"I cant sleep. I want mummy," she said, remaining in the doorway.

"Uh, do you want to ring her on the phone?" he asked. Ada nodded, and he sighed, sitting up and reaching for the telephone that was next to his bed. Ada cam over and climbed up next to him. She leaned against him as he dialled the number to the Pataki's.

"Hello?" a sad voice asked.

"Uh, is Helga there?" Arnold asked.

"Speaking. Is that you Arnold?" she asked.

"Yeah, Ada wants to talk to you," he said, handing the phone over to Ada.

"Hi mummy," she said. "No, I'm still and grandma and grandad's . . . . Arnold's staying here . . . He's ina spare room, im sitting with him now . . . ."

Arnold strained to hear what was being said.

"I miss you . . . Okay, see you tomorrow, love you mummy, bye," Ada hung up the phone then settled down next to Arnold. "I miss Andrew."

Arnolds heart broke. Here his daughter was, upset and sitting in his bed and all she could think about was another guy who had been "daddy" to her. It shouldn't be that way.

But at least she was talking to him, right?

…...

Stella felt a flutter of panic when she looked into her son's old room and didn't see Ada sleeping in there. She went back to Miles, who decided to go see if Arnold had seen her, which is where they found her, curled up next to him on his bed. The were both asleep.

Stella couldn't help it. She went and got the camera and took a photo. The flash woke Arnold up, but Ada's face was snuggled into the pillow so it didn't disturb her.

"What's going on?" he asked. Stella excitedly pointed to Ada, and Arnold looked down at his daughter.

Who was fast asleep.

…...

Helga picked Ada up the next day. She informed them that she and Ada were going to stay the week, to help out Miriam, then they were going home. Arnold looked at Ada and started having crazy thoughts. He didn't want her to go.

Which is when he decided at that moment to see a lawyer. Surely there was something he could do to get his rights back?

…...

"You could petition the courts," the lawyer told him. "There are steps you can take, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"But there's a chance?" he asked. The lawyer nodded. "I'll go with that."

"Okay, so I will need information from you and information about the mother and her current partner," the lawyer told him. "We can do a background check. Now, you say her mother is a recovering alcoholic?"

Arnold nodded.

"And that you smelled marijuana being used by her current partner?"

Arnold nodded again.

"And you were concerned that bodies were being kept in the house while the child was staying there as well?"

"Yes," he said.

"What about Helga? Do you know if she has any legal issues?" he asked.

Arnold shook his head.

"They live in New Zealand," Arnold told the lawyer.

"Okay, that's going to make this a little complicated," he said.

"Also, her current partner is wanting to file for adoption," Arnold added. "Can I block that?"

"At the moment, you can't do anything in regards to the child," the lawyer said, looking over papers. "You may have a case. If nothing else, if Helga is found to be unfit your parents will be able to gain custody."

The lawyer was continuing to look through papers, frowning.

"Did she ever lodge the papers?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"I can't find anything here saying you had given your rights to the child up," he said. "Did it go through court or anything?"

Arnold shook his head.

"Hmmm . . . I wonder . . ." he got on the phone to one of his interns, asking him to come in. "I need you to look into this, please."

He handed the young woman who came in papers. She smiled and left.

"It looks like she never handed in the papers," he said.

"What does that mean?" Arnold asked.

"It means that legally, your still the child's father," he said.

…...

"Arnold, think about this," Stella said, reading the paper in front of her. "Really think about this."

"Yeah, son, you will be completely flipping this girls world on its head," Miles said, looking to Stella worridly.

"I have thought about it," Arnold said. "I signed the papers, but she never handed them in. it never went through the courts. It was never made official. I have a good case."

Miles and Stella looked at each other.

They had a bad feeling about this.

"In the meantime I've got a court order preventing her from leaving the country with Ada," Arnold told them.

…...

"This cannot be happening!" Helga yelled.

Olga looked at her sister.

"What's wrong?" she asked, coming up and taking the paper off her and reading it. "Oh, my."

"Oh my?" Helga demanded. "He's blocking me from leaving the country and all you can say is 'Oh, my'?"

"I don't understand," Miriam said. "I thought he signed his rights away."

"He did. I have the papers at home," Helga said.

Miriam and Olga both looked at her.

"What, you mean copies?" Miriam asked.

"No, the actual papers. I copied them for Arnold."

Olga and Miriam looked at each other.

"What?" Helga asked.

"Helga?" Louis's voice asked.

Helga turned to look at him.

"You weren't supposed to keep the papers. You were supposed to hand them to your lawyer, who would then put it through the courts," he told her.

Helga felt like smacking her head against the wall. How could she have been so stupid? She had been in such a tearing hurry to get out of there that she hadn't followed all the steps, and now it was coming back to bite her in the arse.

"Let me look," he said, coming forward and taking the papers from her.

Helga handed them over.

"Have you rad the second paper?" he asked.

"No," Helga said, with a feeling of dread. "Why?"

"Because he's also blocking Andrew's adoption."

…...

Arnold was waiting for her. He knew she was going to show up. He opened the door for her before she even knocked.

"Oops," was the first thing he said to her.


	9. Chapter 9

She slapped him. Hard.

"How dare you do this to her!?" she screamed in an absolute rage. Arnold stepped back. He'd never seen her so angry, and that was something. She hadn't exactly been a mellow person when she was younger.

"Her? Or you?" he asked.

"You tell me, Arnold," she challenged.

They both stood glaring at each other.

"He smokes weed," he said.

"So? Who hasn't?"

"You drink a lot," he pointed out.

"What?" she asked, shocked. "I do not."

"Every night that I was there you were drinking with that friend of yours," he said.

"Oh, my God," Helga said. "So I have a drink at night!"

"Given your mothers past . . ." he trailed off.

"Don't you dare!" she yelled.

"And my lawyer looked into it. Turns out Andrew has an interesting past. Not to mention the problems his sister has. It's not healthy having a person like that around Ada," he said.

Helga shook her head.

"Why are you doing this? Why now?" she asked. "You couldn't have cared less about her before this past Christmas."

"I never got a chance to know her," Arnold stated. "The courts will see that,."

"I may not have handed those papers in, Arnold, but you still signed them," she said.

"Actions of a scared seventeen year old. Besides, legally I'm not supposed to sign documents of that sort, so they wouldn't stand up anyway," he pointed out. "And come on, your father was well known as being intimidating."

"Oh, so now your going to blame my dad, is that it?" she demanded.

Arnold shrugged.

"You cant just lie about something like that," she said.

"Who said I was lying?" he shot back at her.

"I've just buried Andrews mother, and now I've buried my own father. This is not what I need right now!" Helga screamed at him.

"Hey, you never had a problem going after someone when they were down," he said.

"What?"

"Well . . . my grandmother had just died . . ."

"Are you serious?" she demanded.

"And my girlfriend was out of town . . ."

"Oh my God, your serious!"

"And we were spending time together. I thought you were being a friend. Everyone has slip ups . . ."

She went to hit him again but stopped herself. Was that what he wanted? She withdrew her hand.

"Violence never solved anything, Helga," he scolded.

"You . . . you think Ada is going to love you for this?" Helga asked. "She's going to hate you. Your tearing her family apart. She has school!"

"She can go to school here," Arnold said.

"Her friends are all back in New Zealand," Helga pointed out.

"She's been playing with the neighbourhood kids," he said.

"They're hardly her friends," Helga snapped, getting more and more agitated.

"You kissed me back," he finally said.

"And?"

"What will Andrew say?"

Helga was quiet for a moment, weighing up her options. It was just a kiss.

"So tell him," she challenged.

This obviously took Arnold by surprise. Helga took a step forward.

"Go on, Football Head, I dare ya."

Arnold grabbed her arm and pulled her face right up to his.

"I'm not letting you go."

…...

"I'm my own worst enemy, Pheebs," Helga told her friend.

"Well . . . I don't really know what to say," Phoebe said quietly.

"Ugh! Why am I so stupid? Why, Phoebe?" Helga moaned.

Phoebe patted her on the shoulder.

"It's him," she said. "I just can't escape him. Every time I try, he ends up back in my life."

"Well, you do have a child together," Phoebe pointed out. "It was bound to happen eventually."

"I guess," she said, looking down at the table.

They sat in silence for a minute before Helga glanced at the clock.

"Ada!" she called. "Arnold will be here soon!"

Ada came rushing down the stairs, twirling around.

Helga was stunned for a moment. She was in one of her old dresses.

"How do I look?" she asked innocently.

"Where are your clothes?" Helga asked. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Grandma said I could," she said, pouting.

"No," Helga said, shaking her head. "No, Ada, wear your own clothes."

"But-"

"No." Helga said sharply. Ada's eyes grew big, her mouth opened a little and she took a step back. He mum had never used that tone on her before.

"Are you angry?" she asked. The doorbell went. Great, Arnold was here. If Helga had had it her way, he wouldn't be anywhere near Ada. But court orders are court orders.

"Not at you," Helga said, getting up and walking past her. Ada watched her mum. Something was wrong. When Arnold came in a look was shared between the two of them. So that was it. Something was going on there.

"Did you two fight? Is that why your grumpy, mum?" Ada asked.

Helga just shook her head.

"Have her back by five," Helga told Arnold, turning away. Arnold reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Why don't you come with us? We could make it our first family outing," he said, smiling down at Ada. Helga looked to see her daughter smiling back.

"Yeah, mum, come with us!" she said excitedly.

"I-"

"What? I don't bite," Arnold said.

Helga quickly looked down at Ada, who was putting her gumboots on.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Helga asked Ada. She shook her head. Helga sighed.

…...

They were sitting in Slaucen's having ice cream. Helga couldn't believe this place was still going.

"That sounds cool," Arnold said, after listening to Ada talk about the surfers at the beach. "I didn't see much of them."

"That's because you left," she said.

"Well, everyone was angry with me," he told her.

"You were trying to steal mummy from Andrew," Ada pointed out.

Helga said nothing, Arnold noted.

"So, do you like it here?" he asked.

Ada shrugged.

"It's okay, but I miss the beach and the bush," she said, looking down. Arnold looked at Helga, who continued to stare at the table, but he could see she was not happy.

"We have beaches here," Arnold said. "Your mother and I spent time at the beach together when we were kids, didn't we Helga?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, we won a sandcastle contest and got a bit on a TV show," he told her.

"I know mum was a model once," Ada said. "Grandad Bob used to tell me about it. I think he'd forget he told me about it already."

Arnold smiled at Ada.

"Your mom was a talented person," he said. "She had a way with words, too."

"Yeah, mum's good at stories," Ada said. "She writes heaps of poems and stories. We wrote some stories and poems together."

"Wow, I'd love to hear them sometime," Arnold said. Ada beamed. Helga shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want Ada getting attached, and that's what was happening. She could see it. Sense it. She didn't trust Arnold yet. She couldn't risk her daughters heart. Arnold has crushed hers. What if he crushed Ada's?

"It's four thirty," Helga said.

"True. Let's go out for dinner," Arnold said, standing up and reaching a hand out for Ada's. Ada took it and looked back at Helga.

"Coming mum?" she asked.

"Sure," she said, with a glare at Arnold. "You do realise you've filled her up on ice cream, right?"

"Yeah, but that's not food," he said.

Helga shook her head.

"Wow, you always were one to learn the hard way."

…...

Arnold couldn't believe what Ada had turned into. She was a little monster. She didn't want to eat. He watched as Helga finally managed to get her to eat some chips.

Then there was the shops. She saw something she wanted. Helga said no, so she looked at Arnold, who pulled out his wallet. He saw Helga shake her head, but he went ahead and brought her the doll.

Big mistake.

Now she wanted everything she saw.

"You owe me nine Christmas's and nine birthdays. And all the school holidays!" she declared. Helga laughed.

"Well, actually, I got you a Christmas present last year, so I actually only owe you eight," he told her. Big mistake. Ada turned to glare at him.

Finally Helga put a stop to it.

"Enough, Ada," she said. "If you get everything now, you wont be able to get anything later."

Ada looked at her mum.

Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. Until Ada looked at him and held out her hand.

"Just give me your wallet and I'll get it," she said.

"Ada, no!" Helga yelled.

"You tell Andrew to give you his wallet all the time," Ada said. Helga turned red.

"That's different," she said in a hushed whisper.

"Why?" she asked. "You always said men are only good for three things. Money, labour and sex."

Helga stuttered, and looked quickly at Arnold, who had his eyebrows raised.

"I never said that," she said.

"Yes you did. And then aunty Lara would say "And then you have to make sure you have a good one", and then you would laugh."

Helga wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

"What have you been teaching our daughter?" Arnold asked, laughing.

Helga shook her head.

Finally Helga decided it was time to go home.

"Why don't you stay at my place?" he offered.

"Can we stay at Dad's?" Ada asked.

All Helga could hear was Ada calling Arnold dad. Dad, dad, dad, repeated in her head over and over again.

"Well?" Arnold asked.

"I-"

"We will!" Ada said.

Arnold smiled at Helga.

'Checkmate'.

…...

"Are you mad, mummy?" Ada asked.

"Why would I be mad?" she asked.

"Because I want to get to know my dad," she said quietly, looking at the floor.

Helga didn't know what to say.

"When are we going back home?" she asked.

"Soon," she said.

"I start school again on Monday," Ada said.

"I know," Helga said, biting her lip.

They were both quiet.

"Is something wrong?" Ada asked.

What did Helga tell her?

"Arnold soesnt want us to leave," she blurted out. She immediately regretted it. She shouldn't be putting this onto a nine year olds shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Ada asked.

Helga sighed.

"He's making us stay here," Helga said. "We cant go home until some people say it's okay."

"Why?" Ada asked again.

Helga wanted to scream "Because your father is a dick!", but she swallowed the words and bit her tongue.

Something Ada noticed she did a lot lately.

"Because Arnold wants to get to know you," Helga told her.

Ada looked at the ground, then back at Helga, her eyes going dark.

"You mean he wants to make sure you don't marry Andrew and that Andrew wont be my dad," she said angrily. "Why cant he move to New Zealand? That way he can see me all the time, and you all the time, but we can still be with Andrew?"

"It doesn't work that way," Helga told her.

"Why not?" Ada asked.

"Because,"

"Because why?" she persisted.

Helga said nothing, though she wanted to say everything.

"Alright, guest room is all set up for you Ada," Arnold said with a smile.

"Good luck getting her to sleep," Helga said smirking.

"Bribary," Arnold said. "Hey, Ada, how about tomorrow we go to Dinoland."

"What's Dinoland?" she asked.

"Theme park. They have a roler coaster and stuff," Arnold told her.

"Like Rainbows End," Helga said. "Only not as bright and with dinosaurs."

"Oh wow! I love Rainbows End!" Ada cried out. "And when we went to Australia we went to Water World and Movie World!"

Helga switched off as Ada went on and on about the trip they had taken to Australia the year before. They'd done all the touristy things, minus Andrew who wasn't allowed in the country, then relaxed for two weeks on the beach, and did shopping. Helga couldn't wait to go back!

"But you need to sleep," Arnold added. "All night."

"I can do that!" she said, smiling.

Helga opened a shopping bag and pulled out some pajama's for Ada. She liked to wash clothing before it was worn, but she didn't have a choice here.

"Go get ready," she said, handing them to her, then digging out a new toothbrush and some toothpaste. Ada went up to the bathroom. Helga marvelled at how comfortable Ada was to walk through the house alone.

"I have toothpaste," Arnold said.

Helga shrugged and pulled out pajama's for herself. Arnold went into the kitchen. Helga looked down at the cat on the shirt of the top. What was she going to do? She didn't want to stay. Maybe she could go home and be back in time in the morning and Ada wouldn't notice. But she didn't want to leave Ada there alone. Ada didn't know Arnold that well, and when Helga thought about it, neither did she anymore.

Arnold handed her a glass of wine.

"If you wait, I'll join you," he said.

Helga placed the wine on the coffee table.

"I can't," she said. "Wouldn't want to be seen as an alcholic."

"Look, I'm sorry I said those things, Helga, I was angry," he said, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, well, so am I," she told him, getting up.

"Helga," Arnold said, getting up as well. "I want-"

"Finished!" Ada said, coming into the room. They both looked at her and could see her mind ticking over. "What are you doing?"

"Talking, but we can finish once your in bed," Helga said, going over to her.

"Your not going to leave?" she asked.

"Nope. Now upstairs, go to bed. You'll need your sleep!" Helga chased Ada down to the spare room, and they both jumped on the double bed. Helga looked at the room. It was kind of dark room. And what did an nine year old need a double bed for?

"I love having a big bed!" Ada squeled, jumping around on it.

"Sleep," Helga said. "Now."

Ada sighed then landed on her bum, and crawled under the blankets. Helga told her a story, and then wited til she went to sleep. Then she left the room and went back to the lounge. Arnold was sitting there with a glass of wine for himself.

"What are you up to?" she asked, sitting down across from him.

He smiled at her.

"Getting to know my daughter," he said innocently.

"Pffft, yeah, and I'm royalty," she said.

"Look, Helga, your stuck here for a while, so let's get a long," he said, leaning back and smiling.

Helga wanted to wipe it off his face. Instead she picked up her glass and took a mouthful of wine.

"Talk to me," Arnold said.

Helga sighed.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked. "My father's just died, I want to go home, Ada starts school in a few days and you have us stuck here!"

Arnold looked back towards the hall, then back to Helga.

He watched her take a deep breath.

"I want to know why? It's not just about Ada, is it?" she asked.

No. Arnold admitted it to himself. It wasn't.

"Why havent you told Ada about what I have done?" he asked. "Most woman would have flown off the handle and told their child everything."

"Because it's not fair to lump that on her," Helga said. "I don't want her to hate you or be scared of you."

"Why not?" Arnold asked.

Helga was quiet. She couldn't explain it. There was a part of her that wanted Ada to be accepted and embraced by Arnold so bad. Andrew was an awesome dad, but he wasn't her father. He didn't have that biological tie to her that Arnold did. She, herself, had never felt close to her father. He always seemed so cold, and tyrant-like. She used to wonder why her mother stayed with Bob, but she learned as she grew up that love was complicated. And despite the mean words that would come from Bob's mouth, he stood by his wife til the end and truly did love her. For that Helga secretly admired him. It couldn't have been easy. For either of them. And she admitted to herself there was times he would scare her when she was younger. She grew up to learn he was all bark no bite. She had never fully felt accepted by him, and she didn't want that for Ada.

"Because I want you to love her," Helga said. "I always wanted you to love her and accept her."

Arnold was quiet, letting it sink in.

"I wanted too," he said. "But it was too late. You were gone."

Helga looked up, frowning.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Arnold looked at the floor. No one knew he had done this, except him and Big Bob Pataki. Possibly Miriam. He never told Gerald, he never told his parents, Rhonda, no one.

"After that fight when I signed the papers, I went home and thought about it. Rhonda's bright idea was a holiday before University. I changed my mind. I didn't tell her, but I went to your house. When I was back one weekend from Uni," he confessed. "But you were gone, and Bob wouldn't tell me where. No one knew where you were, not even Phoebe, and what a mission it was to get hold of her!"

"You came looking for me?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I saw that first picture of Ada," he continued. "And it hurt like hell knowing what I had done. I looked at the document and realised what I had done. It was too late. After that I couldn't look at them anymore. I was too invested in Rhonda, and I kept receiving these letters that I knew had photo's in them so instead of opening them I sent them back."

"Oh," she said.

"It was Rhonda who talked to a lawyer and made up stories about you to get a way to make you stop," he said. "I think, deep down, she knew I was lying to her."

Helga was feeling conflicted. Should she believe him? He had lied all those years ago. Lied to Rhonda, his parents, his friends, family, her friends. He had gotten away with it for so long, too. But it had all caught up to him. Rhonda had left him, he was pushing his way into her and Adas lives, she couldn't help but be suspicious.

Meanwhile, Arnold sat back, hoping she'd believe him.

Now that he had finally told the truth.

…...

Arnold watched as Helga gathered her clothes from the floor. She thought he was sleeping obviously, as she kept glancing back down the hall. He finally decided to let her know he was watching her.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "It's cold."

"I need to go,"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because," Helga said, sounding upset herself. "I never should have come tonight. I should have just let the two of you go on your own."

Arnold got up at that.

"Helga-"

Her phone went off. She'd heard it go off a few times. Looking at the screen she saw it was Andrews brother.

"I gotta get this," she said, walking out of Arnold's room and into the hallway.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You need to get home, now," Rangi shouted.

"I can't, im stuck here til-"

"Anaru's in trouble, sis, we need you here, now!" he shouted.

"Why what's happened?" she asked.

"That fucking sister of ours. She got mixed up, he was trying to help her out and he coped it," he told her.

"Coped what?" Helga said. He sounded panicked and jumpy.

"He's in the hospital," he said. "Some dick stabbed him."

"Helga, whats going on?" Arnold asked, following her into the lounge.

"I need to go," she said, grabbing her handbag. "I'll get Olga or Miriam to pick up Ada tomorrow."

Arnold watched as she called a number and arranged a flight back to New Zealand.

"Helga, just tell me what-"

"Andrew's in hospital!" she yelled at him. "I need to go."

Arnold watched as she took off out the door.

…...

Olga came to pick up Ada the next day, looking really sad.

"What's wrong?" Ada asked. Olga looked at Arnold, then at Ada. "Where's mum?"

"Can we sit down, Ada, I need to tell you something," Olga said, quietly. Ada frowned and Olga led her to the couch. Arnold follwed, sitting across from them.

"Andrew was in hospital," she said.

"Is he sick?" Ada asked.

Olga started to cry.

"No," she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Arnold could see a realisation dawning on Ada.

"Where's mum?" she demanded.

"She's at grandma's," Olga told her, wiping her face. Olga looked at Arnold.

"Please," she begged. "She needs to go home. She needs to take Ada with her."

Arnold wanted to ask why, but judging from the look on her face, he knew what the answer would be.

"I'll arrange and pay for flights for Ada and I," he said. "I need to contact my lawyer first, though, to let him know what's happened."

Olga just nodded.

"Come on, Ada," she said, reaching for her hand. "Arnold will meet us at grandmas?"

She looked to him for confirmation and he nodded.

Ada followed her aunt out to her car.


	10. Chapter 10

Arnold managed to get both him and Ada on the same flight as Helga. Andrews brothers were waiting at the airport for them, though they glanced at Arnold suspiciously. Arnold chose to stay at a nearby lodge for the days leading up to Andrews funeral. Afterwards, once Andrews family had left the house Arnold went to stay.

Helga was completely despondent. Ada was quiet and reserved. Neither spoke much. For the first time since they'd met again, Helga would leave Ada alone with Arnold and go for a walk. The first few times he was worried she wouldn't come back. She'd leave in the morning, then come back really late at night. The third time she went out, he and Ada had followed. She had walked aimlessly along the beach. She had realised they were following her and finally stopped, letting them catch up.

She would sigh and randomly stop what she was doing to stare out the window, or look at the door. Ada went back to school, Lara picking her up and dropping her off. Helga dropped her studies completely.

"Too much going on," she'd told him, before going back to her book. After two weeks his lawyer finally got in contact with him, asking what was going on.

"I'm not sure," Arnold said. "I'll get back to you."

His lawyer wasn't too happy with the answer.

He had to drag Helga out of the house one day, because the school had called. Ada was sick. So they both went to pick her up. Helga had sent Arnold in, but he had come back to tell her that the school refused to let him take Ada with him as he wasn't listed as someone who could. Helga stalked in there, dragging Arnold behind her.

"He's her father," she had snapped. They just repeated their policies and procedures to her, but Helga cut them off, demanding Ada. Then they had left. Arnold was surprised. Helga had been so quiet and sad, that to see her angry and noisy was a big surprise.

"I'm over the sulking. Life goes on without him," she snapped at Ada, who had told her she was sick because she was sad.

Arnold frowned. It wasn't like Helga to say such a thing in such a way to Ada. Arnold gave her cuddles on the couch, while Helga locked herself away in her room. Arnold cooked dinner that night for him and Ada. He made a few mistakes, which made Ada laugh, of which he was glad. But Helga didn't come out. He put some food aside for her. He read to Ada, after making sure she was properly ready for bed, then went into the spare room to get things ready for himself, when he heard sobbing coming through the wall. The set up of the house had the spare room placed between Ada's bedroom and the master bedroom. He debated with himself for a while before deciding to go check on Helga. He got no answer knocking on the door, so just opened it and looked in. Helga was sitting on the end of her bed, wrapped in a towel and crying. She had a hair dryer in her lap, but it wasn't even plugged in.

"Helga?" he asked. She just shook her head.

"I put some dinner aside for you," he said.

"I'm not hungry," she said quietly.

Arnold thought back, trying to remember the last time he had seen her eat. He couldn't remember.

"You need to eat," he said. She shook her head. What else could he do?

He left, closing the door behind him and went into the kitchen to get the dinner he had put aside for her, chucking it the microwave to heat it up then went back to her room with it.

"I don't like food in the bedroom," she told him.

"Well then, your going to have to come out and eat it, because it's not leaving this room without you," he said sternly, placing it on her dressing table and sitting next to her.

"Three loved ones in three weeks," she whispered in disbelief. "How does that even happen?"

Arnold rubbed her back.

"I wasn't even there for him," she said. "And Ada . . . he loved her so much and she wasn't here."

Arnold could hear her heart break with her sigh. She fell backwards, then rolled onto her front, her towel riding up. Arnold looked away quickly. It wasn't an appropriate time to think of such things.

…...

Olga showed up the next day. She fussed around the house, forced Helga to eat, got Ada ready for school and made breakfast, lunch and dinners. Arnold was left with not much to do, so instead he helped Ada with her homework, took her for walks to the beach, or the waterfall. One weekend they went horse riding along the coast. not Arnold's favourite activity, but Ada loved it. It made her happy, which made him happy.

But he noticed her going quiet and getting anxious about going home, and that made him feel bad.

Andrews brothers popped around a few times, but Helga wasn't up for visitors. Ada was happy to see them though. They talked to Arnold and Olga, then left after checking on Helga. They told them both to call them if they needed anything. Finally Arnold got fed up with it all, and Olga had too, so they dragged Helga out of her room, Olga practically dressing her first, then put her in the car and made their way to town where they would catch a train to the city, hop on a ferry and go for a walk up Rangitoto, dinner in town, then heading home.

Ada was so excited, and the weather was agreeing with them this day, too. Olga had packed a picnic lunch, with morning and afternoon tea in there. It seemed strange travelling the whole way on a train above ground, to Arnold. When he was on trains, it was in a subway, but on the train he was able to enjoy the scenery. He was able to look into peoples backyards, they went past a playground, past industrial buildings. He felt sorry for the people whose homes backed onto the train tracks. Birthmark was pretty cool as well. He looked up to see what looked like water in the big glass dome that let in light. When they got above ground he saw it was indeed a water feature.

Auckland city was busy, though it still seemed not as busy as what he was used too.

The ferry terminal was smaller than he was expecting.

"So once we get over there, we will have some morning tea," Olga said. "Then when we're on the summit, we'll have lunch. Then we'll come down and have some afternoon tea."

Helga shrugged and Arnold watched as Ada looked over the rail, into the water. Pigeons made him feel almost at home. They were making their way around, pecking at random stuff on the ground. There wasn't as many as what you could find back home though.

Finally the ferry came and they hopped on. It stopped at Devonport first.

"Hmmm, maybe we should have dinner here," Olga thought aloud. "What do you think, Helga?"

Helga shrugged and looked away. Olga frowned. Ada was sitting next to Arnold reading from a fact sheet about Rangitoto. When they got there, they had morning tea, went into the information centre and had a read. Then they went for their walk, stopping at the lava caves. Helga lagged behind all the way up. When they finally got to the summit Ada and Arnold had a look in the old guard house that was put there during world war two.

"Andrews mum swore that a Japanese submarine was in the harbour once!" Ada told him excitedly. Arnold just nodded, and took in the view of the city. The crater was filled with trees. He looked down at his shoes. He'd need to buy some new ones. The lava rock had almost torn his current shoes to bits.

"Can we go to Devonport tomorrow?" Ada asked. "They have tunnels that were put there during the war too! And old guns! And theres a cannon and you can sit on it and it overlooks the beach and in summer you can swim out to a platoon and jump off it and swim around. Mummy was always scared there were sharks there though."

Arnold laughed.

"Are there sharks around here?" he asked.

Ada nodded.

"Manakau harbour is their breeding ground and they have fishing competitions every year," she told him. "Andrew and his brothers took me one year and I help catch a baby shark, but they made me throw it back."

"Fishing?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah! I caught a snapper once!" she said proudly. "They smoked it, but I felt sad. I don't like killing fish."

Arnold looked over at Helga, who looked like she wanted to cry.

"Lunch time!" Olga said, glancing at her sister, then looking at Ada and Arnold with a big smile.

They sat in silence eating sandwiches and some fruit. Helga held half a sandwich but didn't eat it. She just sat staring at it. Both Olga and Arnold traded worried looks. Something wasn't right. Surely she should be getting over this? Or at least getting to a point of functionality? She seemed to be getting worse!

On the way down, Arnold fell back to walk with her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She ignored him. He sighed, then looked to where Olga and Ada were chatting away.

"Helga, you have to snap out of this funk your in," he said. "It's not good for Ada."

"Shut up Arnold," she said, then started walking a little faster to get away from him. But he wasn't going to let her run away. Not this time. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"Helga, listen to me," he said. "If you keep this up, I will take Ada away from you-"

"So take her. I don't care anymore," Helga snapped. She pulled away and went to leave. Arnold felt anger bubble to the surface and boil over.

"Your not doing that to her," he said, grabbing her arm and yanking her back so hard she fell backwards on her butt.

"What the fu-"

"Don't you dare do that to her!" Arnold hissed, leaning in close. "After all the fucking shit you've put me through for "abandoning" her, your going to do the same thing?"

He grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet.

"Your nothing but a hypocritical bitch," he said viciously. "And don't worry. I will."

With that he stormed off down the hill, thankful that Olga and Ada hadn't seen the standoff.

…...

"So that's whats been going on," Arnold said, finishing filling his lawyer in on the details of what had been happening.

"Okay, well, I've pulled in a favour with a friend who is working over there," his lawyer told him. "I can fly out next week. Go over the details. If you can get her to say this in front of a lawyer, you shouldn't have any problems!"

Arnold frowned. His lawyer was sounding a little too chipper about all this.

"So, she'll be in touch with you sometime next week," he was told. "She an expert in family law over there."

"Thanks," Arnold said. "I better go."

"Alrighty then, catch up with you next week," his lawyer said, hanging up first.

Arnold hung up, feeling a bit guilty. Helga was going through a hard time. Was draggin her through the courts over custody of their daughter a good idea? And what was all this going to do to Ada? He went back in the house and saw Ada watching TV with Olga. He wasn't sure what it was, but they were speaking in Maori. It looked like a kids show, the actors dressed up all silly. He heard Ada singing along with a song they were singing.

He was heading towards his room when he noticed the nursery door was open. Helga had shut it up when Wirimu went to live with a cousin of Andrews. Helga had been devastated. She'd become attached to the child, and her and Andrew had been in the starting stages of adopting him. He peeked in and saw her sitting in the rocking chair, crying. He went to ealk away, but stopped. Something was wrong. And maybe she was so emotionally overcome she would talk to him. So he went in.

"Helga?" he asked.

She looked up. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her face blotchy. She quickly wiped her eyes.

"What?" she demanded.

Arnold walked in and knelt in front of her.

"Tell me whats wrong," he said. "Please?"

Helga was quiet for a moment, then broke down.

"It was perfect, almost perfect. I had Andrew, Ada and Wirimu. I had my family, my complete family, and then poof!" she said. "Gone. Now I've my father, I've lost Andrew, I've lost Wirimu, and I'm losing Ada. I've lost my family."

She started crying hard. Arnold didn't know what to do, but the guilt he felt at what he'd just told his lawyer, started weighing a ton. He stood up and hugged Helga awkwardly.

"You havent lost Ada. You still have your sister and your mom," he said.

Helga laughed.

"Mom, sounds so funny after hearing Ada call me mum for so long," she said, wiping tears from her eyes again.

Arnold took a chance. He leaned down close, so he was eye level with her.

"And you have me," he said. "You have me and Ada. We can be a family, Helga. Just like we're supposed to be."

Helga looked up at him.

"And Wirimu?" she asked. "I cant get him back. He was my baby, Arnold. Maybe not biologically, but I raised him that first year."

"I cant do anything about Wirimu," he admitted. "But you can have another baby, Helga."

Helga shook her head.

"I can't replace him," she said, looking at the empty cot.

"You wont be," Arnold said, frustrated. "Give me a chance, Helga, please."

"Why? Last time I got pregnant to you, Arnold, look what you did? Why would I put myself there again?" she asked.

Arnold stood up again, and looked down on her.

"I'm not a teenager anymore, for starters," he said. "And neither are you, so stop being so overdramatic."

Helga glared at him.

"I am not being over dramatic!" she cried.

"Yeah, you are. Your being over dramatic and stubbourn. Get over it," he said.

"Go away, Arnold," she said, standing up and glaring at him.

Arnold shook his head.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said.

The standoff lasted only a few seconds, before Helga broke it by moving forward and kissing him.

…...

Olga heard a bang in the hallway and looked down quickly, in time to see Arnold and her sister tumbling into Helga's room. She turned away.

"Good thing Daddy's dead," she murmered to herself. She looked up to see Ada look at her.

"What was that noise?" she asked.

Olga shook her head and smiled.

"Arnold's helping mummy move some furniture, and they dropped something," she lied.

"Oh, okay," Ada said, going back to her TV show.

Olga lost her smile. She was hoping to God that her sister wasn't going to get hurt by him again.

…...

Arnold watched Helga sleeping and smiled. He kissed her cheek and ran a hand through her hair. She looked peaceful. He looked at the ceiling, then at the time. 2 am. He sighed, then frowned. In the morning . . . What was she going to be like? And Olga? She may not have seen, but she was old enough to know why neither Helga nor he was available to help get Ada ready for bed.

He frowned. At her age, she should be getting herself ready. He thought back to her trip to the states, and he reaction to sugar. Wasn't she a little old to react that way?

He pushed it out of his mind, to focus on the now. The soft warm body next to him, that he used to close his eyes and imagine was next to him, now was next to him. He breathed in her scent. Put an arm and leg around her, so she couldn't get away.

He wasn't going to let her get away again.


	11. Chapter 11

(A/N: Wanting to tie this story up. So this is the second to last chapter. I'm just losing interest, so better to end it now, then to let it go downhill or uncompleted because I'm no longer interested in trying. So things are going to move a little faster. Also I'm writing in how Helga and Andrew met.)

…...

…...

…...

On the weekend Lara came over with a bottle of rum. Arnold shook his head.

"Do you think this is a good idea, considering how you've been lately?" he asked.

Helga smirked.

"I'm a big girl, Arnoldo, I know what I'm doing," she said. Then she frowned. "Stop being so bossy."

She sat down with Lara and started gossiping. Arnold watched the two woman, frowning. Everything seemed to be going well. Helga still seemed to have moments, but generally, things between them were going well. He sighed, not knowing what to do.

"Do you want me to get my husband over here?" Lara suddenly asked him.

"Oh, uh, no it's okay," he said.

"Seriously," Helga said, turning to Lara. "He needs a man to talk too. He had Andrew his last visit, but now . . ."

The mood in the room changed, til Lara smiled.

"I'll call him now!" she said. "I warn you though, there's a rugby game on tonight. You cheer for the All Blacks, got it?"

"Really, Lara, you don't need to," he insisted.

"Hey, honey, I have a favour . . . Yeah? Well listen, Helga has a gentlman friend staying, and he's a bit at a loss . . . Uh huh, I know, but he's american . . . Just a moment," she covered the mouthpiece. "He wants to know if you watch that pussy game Football?"

"Yeah," Arnold said, bristling slightly at the idea of Football being called a pussy sport.

"Yeah he does . . . Haha! Okay, see you soon. Okay, I'll let him know. Love you too, bye," Lara hung up and smiled at him. "Mate, your in shit."

Lara and Helga laughed and went back to talking. Helga had stopped going to Playcentre after Wirimu had left, so she was catching up on all the gossip from Lara.

Ten mintues later, Lara's husband, Sean, showed up.

"Where is the poor bastard?" he asked, walking into the house as if he owned it. Helga and Lara pointed at Arnold. He threw a black shirt at him.

"Some of the guys will be coming round, too," he said. "Sorry Helgs, but you know what it's like."

"Yeah, yeah, just keep it down," she said, getting up and closing the door to the hallway.

Five minutes before the game four more men showed up, all with boxes of beer in hand. Arnold smiled. Men, beer, sports. Some things were universal. He finally unfurled the shirt to see it was plain black with All Blacks and a silver fern sitting over the heart part of the chest. When the game started, the already boisterous men sang the anthem, then a couple got up and did the haka. Arnold sat back watching them. He'd never seen anything like it in a living room. He was also surprised to hear Helga singing the anthem as well. Both versions.

Half way through the game Helga handed him a piece of paper which explained the game to him in briefs. Afterwards he was able to follow the game, and actually got really into it. A little patriotic part in his brain was swearing at him, but he ignored it.

When the break came on, the men explained it a little more in depth. Then one asked a question he was surprised hadn't been asked earlier.

"So how'd you met sexy-pants, there?" he asked, nodding at Helga. Again he felt those hackles rising. He was glad he wasn't a dog.

"Met when we were three," he said, taking a sip of beer.

"And Ada's yours?" he asked. It was the same guy. Arnold frowned.

"Yeah," he said, looking down.

"Don't feel bad, man," Lara's husband perked up. "I aint seen my eldest in thirteen years!"

"Really?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, my first girlfriend took off with my best friend. Battled it out in the courts, but typically they took the mothers side. I gave up after six years of fighting," he said. "Even when the police got involved, didn't matter. Bitch."

"Yeah, drama's with my baby-mama too," Karl admitted. "They're in Australia now."

"Your lucky," Sean said. "Helga's a good woman. Not many would let the man back in after drama. Some don't even have a reason, just bitches. Gotta be careful these days. All that shit about STD's and STI's, they don't warn you about the SFB's."

"SFB's?" Arnold asked.

The guys laughed.

"Slutty fucking bitches," Simon told him. "In it for the money. Pop out kids every couple of years, instead of getting off their slut butts and getting a real job."

"Oi!" Lara called out. "Woman in the house. Sharp objects in the kitchen!"

The men laughed again, then went quiet as the game came back on.

…...

Their guests left on foot that night.

"Too crash at Lara's no doubt," Helga told him. She was drunk, but in good spirits.

"Where's Olga?" he asked, realising suddenly that she wasn't there.

"Catching up with old friends," she told him, putting her arms around his neck. "Horney?"

Arnold smiled and shook his head.

"Is that all your interested in?" he asked.

"What? You thought I wanted to marry you?" she asked, laughing. Arnold stopped smiling. When Helga saw the look on his face, she stopped as well.

"Your fucking joking," she said. She pulled away. "Tell me your joking."

"I didn't say anything," he said, defensively.

"You don't have too," she said. "It's all over your face."

Arnold looked away.

"I thought things were going well," he said.

Helga stared at him.

"You really know how to kill a good night, you know that?" she said, turning away from him.

"Don't you want to be with me?" he asked.

Helga shook her head.

"No, Arnold. I buried my fiance a few weeks back. Not looking to replace him just yet," she said.

"Could have fooled me," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Helga demanded, her eyes narrowing.

"Your so gutted about Andrew, and yet, every night so far where have I been?" he asked. "Oh, that's right. In your bed. With you. So a bit rich whining about replacing him now."

Helga slapped him.

"If it's such a problem for you, you can sleep in your own bed!" she yelled.

"Keep your voice down, you'll wake Ada," he whispered.

"Yeah, like you care," she snapped.

"I do, actually," he said. "Cut the bullshit, Helga. I have a lawyer here as well."

Helga stopped walking away from him and spun around.

"What?" she asked, completely astonished. "But-"

"You think I'd be so stupid as to cut myself off from my lawyer? He has a contact here that's getting in contact with me," he told her. "And you havent exactly been the most onto it woman of late."

Helga looked confused.

"What kind of game are you playing, Arnold?" she finally asked. "One mintue you want to fuck my brains out, the next your threatening me. I don't like to be threatened."

"You should know the game, Helga. You started it," he said. Helga glared at him for a moment, before looking away. He walked up to her. "I want you. And I want Ada. I want us as a family."

"Why though?" she said. "And for how long, Arnold? Til the next skirt comes along?"

"I think we should talk about this tomorrow," he said. He was feeling angry, and drunk. Not a good combination.

"Why not now?" Helga demanded, getting in his face.

"Because we're both drunk."

Arnold walked away. Helga stood there a moment and let things sink in. she was drunk. She always got drunk with Lara.

When she got to her room she saw Arnold was sitting on her bed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What do you want, Helga?" he asked. "Because I want us to be a family."

Helga sighed.

"I don't know," she confessed. She sat on her bed, looking across at him.

"I need to go back," he said, looking up and out the window. "I cant stay here much longer."

Helga nodded.

"Think about it, please?" he asked, turning and facing her. She nodded again. He moved in and kissed her.

…...

The first thing he noticed when he got home at last, was the smell of something cooking. He followed the smell into the kitchen to see a strange woman standing at the oven stirring a big pot.

"Arnold, darling," a voice said from behind him. He froze.

"Rhonda?" he asked, not turning around. He felt her arms snake around his waist.

"I'm back," she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I thought about it, and I forgive you."

"What?" he asked, backing away.

"I forgive you," she said.

Arnold stared at her, confused.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked.

"I just told you," she said, taking a seat on the couch and patting the spot next to her. Arnold remained standing. Rhonda sighed.

"I've had time to think about it, you've had time to think about it. I think we should just get back together already," she said.

Arnold shook his head.

"I can't," he told her.

"Why not? Helga and the brat are gone now," she said, leaning back.

Arnold's eyes narrowed. What was she up to now? Just before Christmas she was berating him for having lied to her, leaving Helga to fend for herself with a child.

And now, here she was, calling his daughter a brat and acting like it was all just a mild inconveniance.

"I'm going for custody," he told her, remaining standing. He had the urge to run.

"Custody?" she asked. "Of the kid?"

"Yeah. She's a great kid, and I want her around. So I'm going for custody," he explained. "She'll stay here with me-"

"Us, you mean," Rhonda snapped. "I don't want a child running around ruining the furniture and breaking things, Arnold."

"No, I meant me. And Helga. And she's nine, Rhonda. She doesn't run around breaking and ruining things," he growled at her, getting defensive.

"My, my, this is a turn around," she said. "Should have known, though. You always were obsessed with Helga. Even as kids, you couldn't stay away from her."

She was too calm.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

Rhonda sighed.

"Because we've been together long enough for half of everything you own to be mine, too," she said cheerfully. "The house, the cars, whatever's in your bank account. Everything."

Arnold frowned. That was all?

"Okay, well let the lawyers sort it out," he said.

Rhonda smiled at him.

"Oh, I will," she said. "I'll be sure to tell him everything. About the numerous infedelities, which, by the way, plays in my favour."

"Excuse me?" he asked, smiling.

"There's things I could mention that would greatly help Helga's case, too," she told him. "You never stayed faithful to me, you'll never stay faithful to her, and there was that incident several years ago with that intern."

"Discharged without conviction. She admitted to lying," Arnold said.

"Doesn't matter. It was there. And you did sleep with her, didn't you?" Rhonda asked. "Does Helga know about that? What judge would grant custody to a man with that hanging over his head?"

"It's not hanging over my head," he said. "Look, Rhonda, cut the crap. Talk to the lawyers, sort it out."

He walked out of the room, leaving a pissed off Rhonda behind him. In the bedroom he sat down on his bed, and put his face in his hands. Why did she have to show up now?

"Do you know how ridiculous you've made me look?" Rhonda demanded.

"Arrrrrrrgh! I don't care!" he yelled at her. "I really don't, Rhonda."

Rhonda took a step back. She hadn't been expecting that. Arnold was usually so placid.

"Well then, you wont mind me returning the favour," she said.

Arnold sat there for a moment, staring hard at her. He had no doubt she would carry through with her threats, but he found he really didn't care. He looked at the woman he had spent eleven years with. And just couldn't bring himself to give two flying pigs about her. What was wrong with him?

Helga.

And Ada.

They were what mattered to him. He looked around his bedroom. It was nice, modern, but cold. It missed pictures on the wall. How had he ended up like this? His room as a child had been bright, and had knick knacks everywhere, photo's of friends and loved ones. It was warm. A place he looked forward to going home to at the end of the day.

This room, this house . . . it didn't feel right. Even when Ada and Helga stayed that night that everything changed, it wasn't a place he wanted to raise a daughter.

"Let's sell the house, cut the profit 50/50," he suggested, suddenly.

Rhonda looked surprised.

"What? No, I like this house. I spent ages decorating," she said.

"Fine, buy me out," he said. "I don't want this house. I don't want to live in it."

"Why?" she asked, curious.

"Because it's not a home. Its no place to raise a family," he told her. "It's cold."

Rhonda looked at him as though he were crazy.

Arnold leaned over and grabbed the phone that was beside the bed, and rung his lawyer.

…...

Helga was just setting Ada's breakfast in front of her when the phone started ringing. She rushed over and picked it up.

"Hello?" she answered, grabbing her toast out of the toaster.

"I'm coming back," a man's voice told her.

"Arnold?" she asked, dropping her toast on a plate and grabbing the margarine and marmite.

"Yes, Helga, me," he said. "Rhonda's buying out my share of the house. Selling the car's, have a few more things to sort out in regards to my job, then I'm coming back!"

"Back? Here?" she asked. "Wait, what's going on?"

"I told you, Helga. I want to be a family. And if that means moving down there to do this, that's what I'll do," he told her, excitedly.

Helga was quiet. Arnold was going to just up and leave his job, his friends, his family, to come all the way down here, to be with her and Ada?

"Mum, is that dad?" Ada asked, getting excited. Helga looked at her. What did she tell her. Instead of saying anything, Helga handed the phone to Ada, and sat down in shock.

"Dad? . . . Yeah . . . Oh my God, really!? That's so cool! Are you going to live with us?" Ada asked excitedly. Helga watched as her daughter's smile wilted a little. "But mum wont mind you living here . . . . What kid of things? . . . What kind of adult things? . . . I don't get it . . . Okay, here's mum."

Ada handed the phone over with a pout.

"What's going on?" Helga asked.

"I wasn't sure about living with you straight away," he admitted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "It's a big move."

"I can get work there, Helga," he said.

"But the pay wont be as good," she told him, biting her lip. "And what about this custody business?"

"I'm dropping it," he said. "No point really, when I'll be living as close as I can."

Helga didn't know what to say. She looked over at Ada who was listening eagerly.

"Okay, well, I can put you up when you first get here," Helga said. "And see what happens from there."

"I already have an interveiw lined up," Arnold admitted.

"You do?" Helga asked shocked.

"I set it up before I came back," he told her. "I . . . I didn't want to come back, and I set it up so if I got here and decided against it, I could come back and go for an interveiw and get a job and set up."

"You did?" she asked.

"I havent been happy here for a long time, Helga. But being with you and Ada . . . It made me realise what I want. And it's not what I thought."

…...

Seven years earlier

Helga sat on the beach looking out at the waves, and watching Ada and Olga splashing around in the lagoon. She looked over towards the flags stuck in the ground, and back at the lifeguard tower.

"I'm going in!" she called out to Olga. He skin was starting to burn. She figured it was the black sand. It was hot and she tip toed as fast as she could across it to the damp sand, where the waves had been washing up. It was nice and cool under her feet. She watched a starfish float by. 'Poor thing' she thought, picking it up. She'd take it out to the water with her, and drop it.

Olga meanwhile, kept looking over her shoulder to keep an eye out for Helga. They had been to the beach often, but lately Helga had been getting a bit reckless. She had also taken up surfing lessons, which Olga didn't completely agree with.

"These are things you do before you have children, Helga. Not after," she'd told her.

Helga had smiled, and Olga knew it was falling on death ears. Helga had been moody of late. Retreating into her writing and art.

Helga had been watching some guys on surfboards further out, and didn't pay to much attention to the shoreline until she realised she couldn't feel the sand anymore, but felt a strong undercurrent pulling her towards the rocks of Lion Rock. She turned to swim across the rip, but it still seemed as though she wasn't getting anywhere!

Helga had gotten caught in a rip. She was starting to freak out and go under, when strong hands grabbed her under her armpits and pulled her out, draping her across a surfboard. She was coughing.

"Better sit up, or your gonna drown again," a guy's voice told her. She managed to get a leg over with the guys help, and finally looked at her rescuer.

He had these beautiful soft brown eyes, that were filled with mischief and fun, and a bit of worry.

"You alright?" he asked.

Helga nodded. He nodded.

"Let's get back to shore then," he said, sliding off the board and motioning at her to lie down. They moved along a bit, away from the swimmers who were still between the flags and rode the waves back in.

"You sure your okay?" he asked again, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," she told him, looking up again.

"Ha, no wonder. Your not from around here, are you?" he asked. "Canada or America?"

"America!" Helga shouted, outraged. How could he not tell the difference?

He shrugged, smug arrogance settling on his features.

"All sounds the same to me," he said.

"Andrew!" a guy called out, running over to him. "Stop flirting with ht chicks, and come help with the barbie."

Andrew turned to her and smiled.

"You should come," he said. He told her the address. She told him about her sister and daughter. He just shrugged. "Bring a plate," was all he said, before taking off after the other guy who was now talking and pointing at her.

'Andrew' she thought, smiling. Her hero.

…...

Helga sat looking at the photo's of her and Andrew together, or her, Andrew and Ada. Or just Andrew and Ada, and various other members of his family. She had tears in her eyes. She had t let go of him. A love triangle between her, Arnold and a ghost just wouldn't work . . .


	12. Chapter 12

Laying Andrew to rest, meant laying her old dreams to rest. She visited his grave and told him about everything. She apologised over and over and cried. When she went home that day she thought about everything they had planned. Adopting Wirimu, and having a child of their own.

She'd even stopped taking her contraception three months before his passing . . .

"Oh, shit," she said. She hadn't started back up again. She got up and looked at the calendar. She was due tomorrow. She thought back and realised that the time wouldn't have fallen in that crucial period, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But she would still pick up a test. Just to be sure. She breathed a sigh of relief when it showed up negative.

Ada was excited about Arnold coming to live with them. Helga, wasn't excited, but wasn't upset. She was neutral. A weird feeling to have, she thought. When Andrews brothers stopped by to visit, with Wirimu, Helga shed tears and told them.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Rangi said. "You got to do what you got to do. But remember, we're here ay."

Helga cried some more and cuddled Wirimu the whole stay. He had gotten so big! He informed her that they were wanting to put her down as an emergency guardian, so should anything happen that kept them from looking after Wirimu, he would go to her. Helga agreed, and Rangi told her a Cyfs worker would be in touch.

When the day came for Arnold to come back, Helga and Ada met Arnold at the airport. Helga's heart skipped a beat as Ada ran towards him and jumped into his arms. Arnold looked happy to have her there, and she was asking him all sorts of questions. He told her he had a surprise for her when they got home.

He got the job he went for - architectural design technician - but never moved out of Helga's. they took things slowly.

A year later they got a phone call from Gerald.

"I'm getting married, man!" he shouted down the phone at Arnold.

"Really? That's great," Arnold said to him. "I'm happy for you man."

"Yeah, talk about lucky, ay? Not often you get a second chance," he said.

"No," Arnold said, looking over at Helga and Ada. "No, you don't."

Things had gone slow and steady between them. Arnold was completely open and honest with Helga, and she returned the favour. She had received a letter from Rhonda outlining everything. She had shown it to him, and he had explained it. He had never found his own place in the end. Ada was happy with how it was, so they agreed to leave things the way they were. After eight months Arnold asked Helga out on a date. She'd laughed and agreed. She said how funny it was to be dating while living together. But it worked.

A couple days after that phone call from Gerald, Helga got a call from Phoebe.

"We're having another baby!" she said. "Talk about a surprise. Oh, and after the birth, we've decided we'll come down and visit you, if you have the room?"

"I'll always have room!" Helga squealed. "I even have a cot or bassinet if you'd rather use that!"

Arnold looked up at that.

"It will be so wonderful to have a baby in the house again. I miss it," she said, glancing quickly at Arnold then away again, walking off onto the deck and continuing the conversation. Afterwards, Helga came in and dropped down onto the couch.

"Who's having a baby?" Ada asked.

"My friend Phoebe. And afterwards they're going to come visit with him or her," she told her.

"When are you and dad going to have another baby?" she asked. "I start intermediate next year, and I'm the only one without a brother or sister."

"I'm sure that's not true," Helga scoffed.

"Well, it feels like it," Ada said.

"Soon," Arnold said, winking at Helga.

Helga rolled her eyes, but six months later she had to hand it to Arnold and his skill of prediction.

Ada started intermediate, and started to spend more time with her friends, often staying over on weekends to hang out at the shopping centre and go to movies, or just make pains of themselves. She often came home complaining about how the security guards kept shooing her and her friends away from the stairs.

"It's not like anyone even uses them!" was her defence.

Three weeks after that they got a call from the "cop shop".

Arnold and Helga went to pick her up together.

"She didn't steal, but her friend did," a constable told them. He looked at Ada. "Don't show your face in here again, unless its to report a crime."

Ada nodded and went home.

Phoebe, Louis and Michael came to visit, just as Phoebe had promised they would, with little Sakura in tow. Helga got clucky, and set the nursery up for her to use.

"You'll be using all this again in a little while," Phoebe teased her.

Arnold went to Gerald's wedding to Indi alone, as Helga was too far along in the pregnancy to fly.

When he came back, Phoebe and her family left. Helga promised to come visit when they could. Two weeks before the birth, Rangi showed up with a pile of baby clothes.

"Missus wants you to have these," he said, dropping the bags on the floor by the door. "Let us know if you need anything else okay?"

Helga nodded and gave him a hug and invited him for dinner.

"Not tonight, but after the baby's born we'll come round and do a hangi for you guys," he said, smiling at Arnold. "You ever had it?"

"No, I haven't," Arnold admitted.

"Your in for a treat then," he said.

True to their word, after their baby, and boy, was born, Andrews family showed up with gifts and food, and made Arnold help dig the hole for the hangi. Arnold felt silly putting food in the ground to cook, but when they ate it that night, he found it was worth it.

"Who am I going to drink with now?" Lara asked.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," Helga laughed, while Phillip breastfed.

"I suppose," she sighed. "How's Ada taking it?"

"Pretty good. She's at a good age, now," Helga said, taking Phillip off the breast. He was falling asleep.

"For now," Lara said. "Wait til she gets her period and starts high school!"

After Helga put Phillip down for the night, and the party had wound down, she got herself ready for bed. Lying awake, Arnold came in and laid down next to her.

"Helga?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you marry me?"

…...

Another year passed.

Miriam, Olga, Stella and Miles made the long trip down. It was also the first time since that Christmas so long ago now, that Phoebe and Gerald met again. Louis and Indi got on well, meaning Phoebe and Gerald had to talk to each other. It wasn't as bad as they thought it would be.

"Bygones be bygones?" Phoebe finally said, holding out her hand.

"Yeah," Gerald said, shaking it.

Later, after the ceremony on the beach, Gerald pulled Arnold aside.

"You'll never believe this," he said.

"What?" Arnold asked.

"Rhonda and Thad got married!" he claimed.

"No way, are you serious?" Arnold asked, feeling like laughing.

"Seriously man," he said.

"Good luck to the poor guy, he's going to need it," Arnold said, feeling sorry for Thad a.k.a Curly. Rhonda was not an easy person to please.

"Lila got her own, too," he said.

"Why, what happened?" he asked.

"She spilled some news that wasn't supposed to be spilt. Went around telling everyone that Patty and Harold were going to have a baby. Anyway, turns out Patty had actually lost the baby. So she's going around, everyone's congratulating her, and she broke down, and took Lila out!" Gerald told him.

"Out?" Arnold asked, a bit worried.

"Well, she didn't kill her, but pretty close," he said. "So Lila is currently public enemy number one."

Arnold thought back on all the trouble that had been caused because Lila had opened her big mouth. If she had kept quiet things would have been a lot different.

But he wasn't going to dwell on it. Both he and Helga had come a long way. Helga had called him out on his possesive nature.

It wasn't that he was possesive, so much that he was afraid she would leave him and disappear from his life.

Like his parents had.

Even though they had come back, that fear that everyone he loved would be gone stayed with him.

At her insistance he had visited a councellor, as Helga had expressed concern about some of his behaivour. A lot of things had come to the surface, some of which he was still working through, with help and support.

Ada did become a slight nightmare after getting into high school, but nothing to serious, just the usual stuff. It frustrated Helga, more than Arnold, which made Helga even more frustrated. Phillip was placid and laidback. He took his sweet time learning to walk, though he talked soon and picked up languages very well. By the time he got to school, he knew basic Spanish and Te Reo as well as English.

Ada met her future husband during a trip to Australia when she was twenty. They married when she was twenty-six and had three children, two girls and a boy.

Phillip took a little longer, as he enjoyed playing the field, but eventually settled down at thirty. He met his wife at the Botanical Gardens. They had two boys.

Helga was the first to go. She passed away at eighty-three. Arnold out lasted her nine years more. He was very thankful.

After the funerals the family lawyer came up to Ada and handed her an envelope.

"It was to go to your mother, if your father had died before her. But, as she passed away before he did it was never given to her," he told her.

"What is it?" she asked, curious. What could her father have possibly wanted her mother to know about after his death?

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry," he said. "My deepest sympathies and condolences."

Ada waited til she was home then opened it. It was a letter addressed to her mother. As she read it, her throat closed up and her heart started to beat rapidly. Philip looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked. His sister had gone completely while and was shaking her head. He was worried all of a sudden that she was going to die next.

"Dad . . . He . . .," she handed the letter to him to read. She was stunned and couldn't get the words out.

How could he?

_Dearest Helga,_

_I've always been terrible at letters. I never had the way with words that you did._

_I love you. That is the first and foremost thing I want you to know. I would've done anything to be with you and Ada._

_I know it's a terrible thing to say, but I am sincerely hoping you pass away before me, so you never read this. But if luck is not on my side, so be it._

_I was responsible for Andrews death. Not directly, obviously, but I paid a man who I found out was his sisters drug dealer. It was a set up._

_I wanted him out of the way. I needed him out of the way. You would never have left him, I knew that then, and I know it now, even though we marry this afternoon. I regret what I did. Not because it got me you, but because, even though he is gone, his presence is still here. I can feel it._

_I hoped that with him gone you would be mine completely._

_But I was wrong, wasn't I?_

_Please forgive me._

_Love forever,_

_Arnold._


End file.
